I first came across baba ganoush on a trip to the Middle East where it always features on mezze plates, and fell instantly in love with its flavour. Here it is paired with an equally strong cut of beef. Onglet steak, commonly known as hanger steak, is a cut from the diaphragm and was for a long time prized in Europe while being ignored in the UK. It's increasingly popular here thanks to its robust, gamey flavour, and tends to be better when cooked rare to medium.
Beer-marinated onglet of beef and baba ganoush
Serves 4
300ml stout
20ml Worcestershire sauce
60g Dijon mustard
2g chilli flakes
10g rosemary
2 lemons
6 garlic cloves
2 x 600g beef onglet
6 aubergines
60ml olive oil
5g ground cumin
60g tahini
10g parsley
10g mint
Start the dish at least 12 hours in advance by combining the beer, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, chilli flakes, rosemary and zest of one lemon in a large container. Chop two cloves of garlic finely and add this to the marinade before placing the beef onglet in the container and refrigerating for 12 hours or overnight.
The next day transfer the beef from the marinade to a clean plate and allow it to dry slightly.
To prepare the baba ganoush, set the grill to a high heat then place the aubergines under the grill until the skins blacken, turning occasionally. Once done wrap each aubergine in clingfilm (the heat will create steam to cook the flesh thoroughly).
When the aubergines have cooled scoop out the flesh and place it in a large mixing bowl, mixing well to break it down before adding the olive oil, cumin and tahini. Next, chop the remaining garlic cloves as finely as possible and add them to the aubergine. Finish the baba ganoush by chopping the parsley and mint finely and adding them before setting the dish to one side.
Now cook the onglet. Place a cast-iron griddle pan on a high heat, season the meat lightly with table salt and place it on the griddle. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the onglet for six minutes before turning it over to cook for a further six minutes. Once cooked place the onglet on a warm plate and allow it to rest in a warm place for 10 minutes. By this point the onglet should be medium rare – cook it for any longer and it will become tough.
Slice the onglet and serve on top of the baba ganoush.
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