A STEAK sandwich speaks for itself. It's a little treat in a world of sandwich fillings that is too often dominated by boring cheese and processed packet ham. This is a particularly heavenly example of the classic, with the added zing of fresh horseradish sauce, an unexpected twist of orange and a host of wholesome sweet, seasoned char-grilled vegetables.
You don't really need another layer of bread on top of all this, but if that's what you prefer, go for it. Likewise, you could try some deep-fried veg for added crunch. If you're struggling to find raw horseradish – farm shops or farmers' markets are
a good bet – then there are some good ready-made sauces available. Extra slice of bread or not, this sustaining sandwich will certainly see you through from lunch until dinner, and would easily make a supper for two.
The combination of ingredients here works beautifully well, but the most important thing to get right is the meat. Pop down to the butcher for proper well-hung Scottish beef, and buy a couple of steaks of whatever's best on offer – you can't go far wrong.
Open steak sandwich with grilled vegetables and homemade horseradish sauceServes two
2 thick slices crusty bread
2 beef steaks, rib-eye/fillet/sirloin
1 clove garlic, bruised and peeled
1 courgette
4 slices aubergine
4 slices red onion
2 plum tomatoes, quartered and de-seeded
½ fresh lime
baby salad leaves
Maldon salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil for drizzling
1 sprig thyme
zest of ½ orange
For the horseradish sauce
fresh horseradish, peeled and finely grated
Mizkan rice vinegar
crème fraîche
sugar
First place the beef into a plastic bag and beat reasonably gently with a rolling pin to tenderise it. Remove from the bag, cut off the fat and slice the meat lengthways to create a thin steak that will cook quickly.
Next, prepare the vegetables. Slice the courgette and place on a baking tray. Add the red onion and aubergine slices. Lightly drizzle over some olive oil.
Preheat a griddle pan until hot, then cook the courgettes, onion and aubergine for a couple of minutes on each side – until nice char-grilled stripes have formed – taking care not to overcook. Return the vegetables to the tray and add the tomato quarters. Season the vegetables with salt, pepper, orange zest and thyme leaves. They may be cooled for later use.
For the horseradish sauce, mix the grated horseradish to taste with a little Mizkan rice vinegar and stir into the crème fraîche with a pinch of sugar. Add seasoning to taste.
Toast the bread on the griddle pan, moving it through 45 degrees and repeating to get a crisscross char-grilled effect.
Rub the toasted bread with the bruised garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Season the beef and brush with oil. Add the meat to the hot griddle pan and cook for a minute or two on each side, then remove to a warm plate and leave to rest for a few minutes.
To serve, reheat the vegetables again in a warm oven if necessary.
Place the bread on two warm plates and top each with a slice of steak, vegetables and horseradish sauce, then another slice of steak and a small pile of salad leaves.
Serve with a quarter of a lime alongside.
Critical pointsChar-grilling vegetables on a hot griddle pan works well for a sandwich. The heat sweetens the vegetables while allowing them to retain a bit of bite and develop lovely charred stripes. But best of all, none of the goodness is lost in the cooking. The main trick is to leave the vegetables once they're in the pan, then turn them once only through 45 degrees to get the crisscross effect, before turning them over. Don't overcook or they will go soggy.
Rubbing garlic on to bread is a very common practice in Mediterranean cooking. It adds a lovely aroma to the toast and a little interest on the palate. Simply bash the garlic while it's still in the clove, then peel and rub on the toasted slices. The crisp surface will catch more of the garlic flavour than if it was plain untoasted bread.
The orange zest adds a lot of interest to this sandwich, providing an unexpected yet harmonious layer of flavour.
Use a traditional zester to get lovely long strands, and make sure you only use the top millimetre or so of the orange skin, which is where all the oil and flavour lies.
This article was first published in the Scotland on Sunday on November 1, 2009