Bekri meze is normally a way of pan frying pork chunks and requires wine and hot pepper to make it a good accompaniment for wine drinking (bekris means drunk in Greek). The flavours of the sauce are lovely and go well with beef too. I cook the sauce and the meat separately so that the meat retains all its own flavour and juices.
Ingredients (serves 2)
For the steaks
- 2 sirloin steaks, approx. 225g each
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 sprig of thyme
- 1 knob of butter
For the potatoes
- 2 Jersey royals, approx. 150g
- 1 generous pinch of saffron
- ½ tsp yellow mustard seeds
- ½ tsp black mustard seeds
For the sauce
- 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- ½ of a bell pepper cut in small cubes
- 1 small red chilli, finely chopped
- 150ml red wine
- 1 tbsp good red wine vinegar
- 150ml passata
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp smoked sweet paprika
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and extra for drizzling the sauce at the end
To serve:
- 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
- Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
Method
Start by making the bekri meze sauce.
Bring a frying pan to a medium heat. Add the oil, onion and pepper and cook till the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for a further minute before adding the spices and the bay leaf. Stir for a minute to release the flavours of the spices and pour in the wine and vinegar. Cook all the wine off before adding the passata. Bring to the boil but immediately lower the heat and cook the sauce till it is reduced and thick. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm or re-heat gently before serving. Add a splash of extra virgin olive oil to give it a gloss.
To cook the potatoes, bring a pan three quarters full of water with a pinch of salt and a generous pinch of saffron to the boil. Scrub and chop the potatoes in chunks and cook till soft but holding their shape. Drain and return to the pan. Add the mustard seeds, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper as well as the olive oil and crush with a fork. Keep warm.
For the sirloin steak, remove these from the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking. Pat dry and season generously with salt and pepper. Bring a frying pan to a high heat and add the oil. When the oil smokes, add the steaks to the pan and cook for 2 minutes on one side. Turn over, add the thyme, garlic and butter and cook for another 2 minutes on the other side, basting all the time with the butter. Depending on thickness and how well you want the steak cooked, this may be enough. If the steaks are thick cook for 2.5-3 minutes on each side. Turn the heat off and rest for 10 minutes before carving to serve with the crushed potatoes and the sauce.
Sprinkle with the finely chopped parsley and drizzle with some more extra virgin olive oil.