Oregano & Feta Steaks

Oregano & Feta Steaks

Oregano is one of those herbs I often forget to use. Now that I have masses of it growing in my garden I’m finding myself reaching for it more and more. Oregano and steak is a classic combination in the Argentinian sauce ‘chimmichurri’. I’ve simplified it here using some feta for a salty creamy contrast.

enough for: 2
Takes: 20 minutes
2 steaks
2 tablespoons sherry or wine vinegar
handful oregano leaves, chopped
handful feta, crumbled
baby spinach or salad leaves to serve

1. Remove steaks from the fridge preferably an hour before you want to cook them, or as long as you’ve got.

2. For the dressing, combine vinegar with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and oregano. Season with salt and pepper and leave to marinate while you cook the steaks.

3. Heat a char grill pan, BBQ or frying pan on a high heat. Rub steaks with a little oil and sprinkle with salt.

4. Cook steaks for 3-5 minutes each side, or until cooked to your liking.

5. Place steak on plates and crumble over feta. Drizzle over dressing and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving with the salad leaves on the side.

Variations

vegetarian – this feta dressing is super lovely on pan fried mushrooms. Field or portabello are my favs expect them to take 8-10 minutes in a hot pan. Another option is to serve the cheesey dressing on a big bowl of lovely lentils or beans.

dairy-free – go for a more traditional chimmichurri and replace feta with a small bunch finely chopped flat leaf parsley or replace feta with black olives such as little ligurian ones. You could also simply replace the feta with roast almonds.

vegan – combine the dairy-free and vegetarian options.

different herbs – if you don’t have oregano, marjoram is the next best thing. After that my preference would be flat leaf parsley, basil or mint.

different cheese – marinated Persian feta is particularly lovely but any soft, creamy cheese will work such as goats cheese or ricotta.

more substantial / carb lovers – steak and potato are always a winner in my house. Pretty much any spuds are good but roast potatoes are a classic and a creamy mash also works well. Sometimes I serve our steaks with a packet of commercial potato chips or crisps for a quick crunchy fix.

more substantial (low carb) – add olives and almonds.

different protein – chicken breasts or thigh fillets are great. A pork chop or lamb chop is another good alternative. The more robust fish like swordfish or tuna steaks are also options.

more veg – add other veg to the salad like snowpeas, red capsicum (bell peppers), cucumber or zucchini.

Waste Avoidance Strategy

steaks – freeze it.

sherry or wine vinegar – keep in the pantry.

oregano leaves – best to use for another meal. Can be frozen but will wilt when defrosted.

feta – keeps for months unopened in its packet. Or can be frozen. Or you could make a marinated feta by putting it in a super clean jar from the dishwasher and covering with oil and then keeping it in the fridge. Sometimes I like to add flavourings like bay leaves, lemon zest and pepper corns or chilli.

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.