Cafe Lula

The steak sandwich recipe wasn’t meant to be a sandwich. I was flicking through Mexican Food Made Simple and I came across a recipe called “Rib-eye steak with chilli mushrooms”. On the facing page is a picture of the yummiest looking sammich you have ever seen. So I started reading through the recipe and I realised the picture and the recipe didn’t match. At all. But the idea had been planted in my brain, so steak and chilli mushroom sandwich was what we made 🙂

The turkey adobado, which has kind of been muscled out of the picture, comes from the same book and actually somewhat resembles the original recipe. It is tangy and delicious and I could eat a bucketful.

Steak and chilli mushroom sandwich

A Cafe Lula recipe (inspired by a recipe I completely misinterpreted from Mexican Food Made Simple by Thomasina Miers)

Serves 6

Ingredients:

6 thin fillet steaks

fresh oregano, chopped

salt and black pepper, to season

olive oil, to marinate and for frying

a few slices jalapenos, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 shallots, chopped

250g mushrooms, sliced

1 avocado, mashed with the juice of a lime

Tomatoes and enough of your favourite bread for 6 sandwiches, to serve

Place the steaks in a shallow dish and pour over a little olive oil, then scatter over the oregano, black pepper and salt.

Light the charcoal on the barbecue and let the steak marinate while you wait for the coals to die down for about 20 minutes so they’re all grey and smoking.

In a frying pan, heat a little olive oil over a medium heat and fry the shallots until softened. Add the jalapenos, garlic and mushrooms and fry until the mushrooms have softened. Leave over a low heat while you cook the steaks.

Place the steaks on the barbecue and cook for a few minutes each side, depending on how red you like your steak.

Let the steaks rest for a few minutes. Split the bread, spread with avocado, top with tomatoes, steak and mushrooms. Yum yum yum.

Turkey adobado

Adapted from Mexican Food Made Simple by Thomasina Miers

Serves 6

Ingredients:

6 thin turkey breast steaks

4 tbsp olive oil

2 shallots

5 garlic cloves

4 heaped tbsp tomato puree

juice of 1 orange

4 slices jalapeno, chopped

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried

30g brown sugar

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

salt and black pepper, to season

bread and salad, to serve

Place all the ingredients except the turkey steaks in a food processor and blend until you have a smoothish mixture. Pour all over the turkey, making sure it is well coated, and leave to marinate for a few hours or over night.

Light the coals on the barbecue and allow to die down until grey and smoking.

Place the marinated turkey on the barbecue and cook for a few minutes each side, until cooked through.

Serve with salad and bread.