Barbecued Eye Fillet with Carrots, Eggplant & Israeli Couscous Salad

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Soak up the balmy summer air and enjoy the company of friends and family whilst you barbecue. This recipe pairs the eye fillet with a colourful vegetable and couscous salad, drizzled with a punchy herb dressing. Expect guests to be begging for Christmas at your place again next year.

Prep: 30 mins

Cook: 25 mins

Serves 8

Excellent source of iron

Low Sodium

Ingredients

Beef

1kg Quality Mark beef eye fillet, cut from the thinner end, trimmed of silver skin
olive oil for rubbing

Salad

2 cups Israeli couscous
3 tablespoons olive oil
250g baby carrots, scrubbed and cut in half lengthwise
250g baby purple carrots, scrubbed and cut in half lengthwise
1 eggplant, cut into 1.5cm slices
1 tablespoon chopped preserved lemon (see tips)
1 lemon for squeezing
4 handfuls baby green leaves
small handful mint leaves, shredded

Green herb dressing

1 well packed cup flat leaf parsley leaves
1 well packed cup coriander leaves
2 spring onions, trimmed and roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
good pinch dried red chilli flakes
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Method

Green herb dressing

Place the herbs, spring onion, garlic, lemon zest, cumin and chilli in the bowl of a food processor. Process to roughly chop the herbs. While the processor is on, drizzle in the olive oil followed by the vinegar. Season with salt and place dressing in a small screw top jar. Keep in the fridge.

Heat a barbecue plate until medium-hot.

Beef

Rub the beef with olive oil and place on the barbecue plate. Barbecue for 20 minutes, turning beef 4 times to brown all sides. Lower the heat and barbecue for a further 5 minutes for medium rare beef.

Transfer to a large plate, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover loosely with foil or baking paper and a clean tea towel and leave to rest for at least 20 minutes.

Heat a barbecue grill until medium-hot.

Salad

Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the Israeli couscous and cook for 7-8 minutes until tender. Drain and refresh under cold water to arrest cooking. Drain well, then place in a large bowl and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil to prevent sticking and set aside.

Brush eggplant slices with some of the remaining olive oil and place on the grill and cook until very tender. Cut into big chunks and add to the Israeli couscous.

Place the carrots in a bowl with the remaining olive oil and season. Place the carrots on the grill, turning often, until tender or cooked to your liking. Remove and place in with the Israeli couscous.

Add the preserved lemon, greens and mint. Toss gently to combine, adding a little extra olive oil if needed and a good few squeezes of lemon juice. Place on a large shallow serving plate.

To serve

Slice the eye fillet across the grain and arrange on top of the salad. Drizzle with some of the green herb dressing and serve the remainder in a separate small bowl for passing.

Suitable Cuts
Nutrition
Tips & Tricks

W HOLE EYE FILLET

EYE FILLET STEAKS

SCOTCH FILLET STEAKS

Nutrition Information Per Serving

Serving size: 357g

Energy kJ (kcal)	2118 (506)
Protein (g)	31.6
Fat (g)	31.2
Saturated (g)	6.9
Carbohydrate (g)	22.5
Sugars (g)	5.9
Sodium (mg)	88
Iron (mg)	4.6
Zinc (mg)	3.7
Vitamin B12 (ug)	2.2
Vitamin D (ug)	NA
Selenium (ug)	9.6

Oven cooking a whole beef eye fillet – 1.5kg: Preheat the oven to 210°C. Heat a large frying pan or cast iron flat plate over high heat. Brown fillet on all sides. Remove and place in a shallow baking tray. Spread over a little Dijon mustard, drizzle with a little olive oil and grind over black pepper. Place in the hot oven and cook for 18 minutes for medium rare beef. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with salt, cover loosely with foil or baking paper and a tea towel and leave to rest.
Preserved lemon in a jar can be purchased at your local supermarket or foodstore. Rinse and finely slice or chop the rind before use. Discard fleshy bits.