I’ve become a little obsessed with flavoured butters in the last few months. Ever since I realized that I can just quickly make them without having to do it in advance and refrigerate it before using – like so many recipes tell you to do.
The only thing is you need to have your butter at room temperature so will need to think ahead a little (unless you’re happy giving cold butter a quick zap in the microwave).
I’ve also been loving chives at the moment as a way to get those lovely complex onion-y flavours without actually using non-FODMAP friendly onions.
These days I pretty much only cook minute steaks. It is a little bit of a hassle to bash out the steaks before cooking but then the steaks cook in (literally) a minute on each side AND they are super tender and tasty.
It’s really worth the hassle.
The chive butter works beautifully with steak but is also amazing on chicken, fish, roast veg, mushrooms or eggplant ‘steaks’. Also thinking it would be lovely on burgers.
enough for: 2
takes: 15 minutes
80g (3oz) salted butter, at room temp
2 tablespoons chives, finely chopped
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
2 teaspoons lemon juice + extra lemon to serve
2 steaks
1 large bag baby spinach or green salad, to serve
1. Mash together butter, chives, parsley and 2 teaspoons lemon juice in a small bowl. Allow to stand while you cook the steaks.
2. Heat a frying pan or BBQ on a high heat. Slice each steak into 3 pieces, then using your fist, a meat mallet, a small saucepan or a metal potato ricer, bash each piece of steak out so it is less than 1cm (1/3in) thick. Rub each piece of steak with oil on both sides and season with salt.
3. Sear steaks in your super hot pan for 1 minute each side or until browned and still a little pink in the middle. Divide steaks between two warm plates.
4. If using baby spinach return the pan to a medium heat and add the spinach. Cook, stirring for a minute or until the leaves are about 1/2 wilted but some still whole. Remove from heat and add a squeeze of lemon. Divide cooked spinach between two plates.
5. If using salad, skip the wilting step and serve the fresh leaves on your plates.
6. Smear chive butter over the hot steaks and enjoy asap!
WINE MATCH: A favourite glass of red such as a cool climate shiraz or syrah.
Variations & Substitutions
vegetarian – tofu, large flat mushroom ‘steaks’ or eggplant ‘steaks’ instead of the butter.
dairy-free – make a herb oil by infusing chives & parsley in 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil.
more substantial (carb lovers) – potatoes (roast, steamed or mashed) or crusty bread to soak up the lovely buttery steak juices.
more substantial (low carb) – add roast nuts like almonds, walnuts or hazelnuts. Use more butter. Or serve with some extra low carb veg like roast cauliflower or steamed broccoli.
different protein – great with chicken breasts or thighs (just bash out as per the steak). The herb butter is also fab with any pan fried fish.
different herbs – tarragon, thyme, basil or any combination is good.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
butter – will keep in the fridge for weeks.
chives – best to use for another meal.
parsley – will keep in the fridge wrapped in a plastic bag for a few weeks. Can be frozen or make a parsley oil by packing the leaves into a clean jar and covering with extra virgin olive oil.
lemon – whole lemon will keep wrapped in a plastic bag in the fridge for months.
steaks – freeze them.
baby spinach or salad leaves – are highly perishable. My first path would be to use them for another meal (salad for breakfast!) but if that isn’t possible you can pop them in the freezer. They will wilt down but can then be used anywhere you’d use wilted greens. At least this way they won’t go slimy.
Prepare Ahead
Not really. The butter can be made in advance and either refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen. And then allowed to come to room temperature before you cook. But the steak is really best when hot from the pan. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or can be frozen.
