Apparently, the fifth heatwave of the summer is heading our way. Should we be grumbling about it? Maybe. Maybe not. But yes, we’re practically hotter than Spain right now. Except we’re not. Obviously. Spain is still Spain.
But when the mercury starts heading north, the last thing anyone wants to do is stand in a hot kitchen, firing up ovens and pans and turning the house into a branch of Dante’s Inferno. So get outside, light the barbecue, crack open something cold and cook an enormous piece of beef over fire.
And we have just the beef for the job.
BRING ON THE BASQUE
Our Basque Rump comes from Spanish ex-dairy cattle, left to roam the pastures of the Basque Country until they’re between eight and twelve years old. It’s a little less intense than our Galician beef, but those extra years still deliver plenty of deep, lasting flavour - particularly when introduced to a screaming-hot barbecue.
HOW TO COOK BASQUE RUMP
Take the beef out of the fridge at least two hours before cooking and get your barbecue grill smoking hot. At the last minute, season generously with our Great Cow Rub. Use the tiniest slick of oil - or none at all if your grill is properly hot.
Stick your steak on, give it a couple of minutes to develop a good crust, then turn regularly to build colour without burning.
For a 400g steak, cook for 6-8 minutes for medium rare or 8–10 minutes for medium. For an 800g steak, 12-14 minutes for medium rare or 14-16 minutes for medium. For the mighty 1.2kg steak, give it 16-18 minutes for medium rare or 18-20 minutes for medium.
Then leave it alone. Rest on a warm plate for at least 10 minutes before carving. Open a beer. Pour some wine. Stare at it if you must. Just don’t cut into it.
YES, WE EAT SALAD
Believe it or not, here at Turner & George we are rather fond of a salad alongside our meat. We appreciate this revelation may come as a shock.
And because kale still hasn’t relinquished the hipster crown it seized sometime around 2013, we’re pairing our Basque Rump with a Kale Caesar Salad, taken from Richard Turner’s PRIME: The Beef Cookbook.
To be fair to kale, this is actually very good. The salty, creamy, cheesy brilliance of a Caesar dressing, crunchy torn bread, Parmesan and anchovies make the green stuff considerably more exciting. Enough, perhaps, to put up a respectable fight against the enormous slab of Spanish beef sitting next to it.
Almost.
KALE CAESAR SALAD
Recipe from Richard Turner’s PRIME: The Beef Cookbook
Serves 4
Ingredients
85g mixed baby kale leaves
50g leftover Trencher, or similar loose-textured bread
10g finely grated Parmesan
8 salted anchovy fillets
Maldon sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
For the Parmesan dressing
50g finely grated Parmesan
20ml Champagne vinegar, or good-quality white wine or cider vinegar
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
60ml sunflower oil
20ml extra virgin olive oil
Method
Blend the Parmesan, vinegar, lime juice, mustard, salt and pepper until smooth. With the blender running, gradually add both oils until emulsified and thoroughly combined.
Wash and pick the baby kale, removing any tough outer leaves, and dry really well. Pull the bread into rough chunks and bake at 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4 until golden and crisp, then season lightly.
Toss the kale through the dressing and pile onto plates or one big serving platter. Crunch the toasted bread over the top, grate over the Parmesan and finish with the anchovy fillets.
And because beef and salad alone might sound dangerously virtuous, we’ve simply added some butter-fried gnocchi on the side. Nothing complicated – just gnocchi tossed in a hot pan with plenty of butter until golden, crisp and gloriously nutty around the edges.
Slice your rested Basque Rump across the grain, pile on the Kale Caesar and spoon over those buttery little nuggets of gnocchi.
Then take the whole lot outside.
Because summer won’t last forever. Even if, right now, the UK is doing a fairly convincing impression of España.
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