Caxton magazines staffOne of the perks of running Grand Dedale Country House (granddedale.com) is that Angelo and Tina Casu can delight their friends with the new dishes they’ve picked up from their chefs
INGREDIENTS
For the rump:
- 4 x 200g eland rump steaks (or any other preferred steaks)
- coarsely-ground black pepper
For the sticky onions:
- 3 small red onions, sliced
- butter and olive oil, to sauté
- 1 cup red wine vinegar
- 30g treacle sugar
- salt and pepper, to taste
- small bunch fresh basil, roughly chopped
For the eggplant cannelloni:
- 2 large eggplants
- oil for light frying (avocado oil is ideal)
- handful young spinach leaves
- 40g ricotta cheese
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- oregano, to taste
- 40g Parmesan cheese, grated
To serve:
- roast potatoes
- 1 fresh avocado, sliced
- 12 rocket leaves, to garnish
METHOD
To make the rump and sticky onions:
1. To make the sticky onions: sauté the onions with a little butter and olive oil. When they become translucent, add the vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Cook until the mix has a syrupy consistency. Test it by letting it run from a spoon; it should be almost honey-like when hot. Once ready, add the basil.
2. Pepper the steaks on both sides and grill to your preference. Leave the meat to rest before serving.
To make the eggplant cannelloni:
1. Cut the eggplants lengthwise into slices half a centimetre thick. Lightly fry the slices on both sides.
2. Cook the spinach in a pan with a drop of oil, stirring until soft (about a minute). Add the ricotta cheese and some salt and pepper to taste.
3. Preheat the oven to 220°C. Place a tablespoon of spinach filling on one end of a piece of eggplant and roll lengthwise. Repeat this step until you have used all the ingredients.
4. Place the little eggplant packages next to each other in an ovenproof dish. Pour the chopped tomatoes, oregano and seasoning over them, sprinkle with Parmesan and bake for about 10 minutes.
To serve:
1. Place some warm sticky onions on a plate and top with a steak. Arrange some avocado slices and rocket leaves alongside and serve with the roast potatoes and brinjal cannelloni.
This recipe serves 4.
