Cook of the Week Challenge: Harrell, May work with beef cubed steaks, watercress, lentils and Pumpkin Smasher beer
When I first received the mystery ingredients I instantly thought. what do I want to do with this pumpkin beer? After writing all my ideas in my notebook I decided to make a Southern fried steak with pumpkin beer gravy. I wanted the lentils to have a lot of flavor so I decided to make them smokey/spicy; I instantly knew bacon would be involved. I knew I wanted to make a salad with the watercress. I figured adding feta cheese, red onions and some pumpkin seeds to the watercress would just tie everything together.
Steve May
When I picked up my ingredients I heard bottles jingling so I thought I was either getting a lot of vinegar or some beer. I was pleasantly surprised to see a six-pack of micro-brewed Pumpkin Smasher Malt Ale in my bag. I also had a bag of lentils, which had me puzzled as I had never cooked them before. As I drove home I began thinking that the best use of beer would be for a braising liquid, and voila, Salisbury steak with a side of warm lentil salad made the cut! For the lentils I decided to make a warm side with them. I have cooked dried beans so I just used that as my base using the beer as part of the cooking liquid. Knowing the watercress was going to add a bitterness to the lentils, I decided to add frozen peas for some sweetness. To add some texture, in this case a crunch, to the lentils I added chopped pumpkin seeds. My 8-year old and 6-year old are now asking to eat Salisbury steak when they serve it at school.