Steak & Lentil Hummus Stacks

Our once-cute thirteen-year-old's appetite for red meat is ferocious. Unsettling, even. So if there is ever any leftover steak in this home, it's unlikely to be more than a scrap. If that scrap isn't intercepted by the dog or surreptitiously stuffed in my mouth while I scrape dishes, this is what it might become...

Despite the boy's raptor-like appetite for things that bleed, he's actually quite particular. Serve him anything a shade over medium-rare (Pantone 179 U) and he'll send it back to the kitchen. He thinks he's at Le fucking Gavroche. Luckily, medium rare is exactly what this recipe calls for. I used fillet steak but any leftover steak will do as long as you didn't destroy it (Pantone 16-1109).

I made a lentil hummus for the 'smear' because I had lentils in the cupboard and figured you could make a hummus-kinda-thing with any pulse. I added a little dried mint and some chilli flakes, plus the usual hummus staples of tahini, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic. It worked beautifully - earthier than its chickpea counterpart and the mint and chilli keep your tastebuds on their toes.

This recipe makes way more hummus than you'll need for the steak stacks, but that's no bad thing. It'll keep in the fridge for three of four days.

Steak & Lentil Hummus Stacks

~ serves two ~

Ingredients

The steak

80-100g leftover steak, 5mm slices

The tomato salad

1/2 tomato, diced

2 tbsp finely diced red onion

1 tsp cider (or whatever) vinegar

pinch of salt

pinch of sugar

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

few grinds black pepper

handful of fresh herbs - parsley, mint or coriander - torn or roughly chopped

The lentil hummus

1 cup dried green lentils

2 peeled garlic cloves

2 garlic cloves, minced/grated on a zester

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp dried mint

pinch chilli powder

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

5 tbsp tahini

juice of one lemon

1/2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted in a dry pan

The toast

2 tbsp butter

2 slices of sourdough bread

Optional bits on top

Chilli oil or chilli flakes

Crispy fried onions

Toasted cumin seeds

Toasted hazelnuts / any nuts really

Make the hummus

Rinse the lentils in a sieve.

Put them in a small pan, add 2 cups of water, the salt and two peeled garlic cloves, squashed under the flat of a knife. Bring to a boil then reduce to a low simmer.

Let the lentils cook uncovered, stirring every few minutes until they've broken down to a soupy mush. Take it off the heat when the mush is thick enough to sit-up on a spoon.

When the lentils have cooled down but still warm, stir in the remaining garlic, lemon juice, cumin, mint, chilli and tahini.

Now you can blitz everything with a stick blender or transfer to a bench-top blender. Blend it until it looks like hummus.

At this point, check the seasoning and add extra salt, chilli, mint, lemon or garlic - if you feel it needs a boost.

Pour in the oil and give it a final blitz until it's glossy.

Make the tomato salad

Combine the chopped tomato, red onion and herbs in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk the vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and oil until combined.

Add the dressing to the salad and stir it through.

Make the toast

I'm a fancy-pants kinda guy with a carefully trimmed moustache and matching socks (The socks match each other, not the moustache - although that would be very cool.) so naturally, I use a pastry cutter to make perfect circles out of my bread before I fry it. If you're a barbarian or insecure in your masculinity, you may skip this step.

Butter the rounds of bread on both sides, before they go in the pan. Use up all the butter.

Put the pan on a medium heat and slide in the buttered bread. Give them a gentle squish down with a spatula and check after about 1 minute. When they're nicely browned on one side, flip and repeat.

Assemble

Smear a healthy dollop of hummus on the toast, add a couple of slices of steak, a little pyramid of tomato salad, another little blob of hummus on top, some crunchy fried onions and a drizzle of chilli oil... Now take a moment to admire your work before a teenage raptor swoops in and tears it apart.