← Nouns Cooking · Lebanese & Turkish

Ingredients

• 600 g sirloin or rib-eye steak (or lamb leg steaks), sliced paper-thin across the grain
• 1 Onion, grated, juice squeezed out and kept
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 tsp Paprika
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp Dried oregano
• ½ tsp Black pepper
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 clove Garlic, grated
• 1½ tbsp Tomato purée (paste)
• 1 tsp Turkish pepper paste (biber salçası) (optional)
• 2 Tomato, grated, skins discarded
• 300 ml Water
• 1 pinch Chilli flakes
• 4 pide or thick pitta breads
• 300 g thick plain yogurt
• 60 g Butter
• 4 long mild green peppers (optional)
• 2 Tomato, halved (optional)

Method

1. Mix the onion juice, oil, paprika, cumin, oregano and pepper in a bowl. Toss the beef slices through it, cover and leave in the fridge for 1 hour.
2. For the sauce, warm the oil in a small pan over medium heat and fry the garlic for 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato and pepper pastes for 1 minute, then add the grated tomatoes, water, chilli and a pinch of salt. Simmer for 10 min until slightly thickened.
3. Heat a griddle or heavy pan until very hot and blister the green peppers and tomato halves for 5–6 min, turning. Keep them warm.
4. Cut the bread into bite-sized squares, warm it briefly in a low oven, then spread it over four plates and spoon a little sauce over so it softens.
5. Salt the beef and sear it in the hot pan in small batches for 1–2 min, just until browned at the edges.
6. Pile the meat over the bread, spoon over more sauce and add a big dollop of yogurt on the side. Melt the butter until foaming and golden, then pour it, sizzling, over the meat at the table.

Tips

• Freeze the steak for 30 min before slicing; it firms up and slices far thinner.
• The hot butter is the signature, so do not skip it: it should still crackle as it hits the plate.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Turkey's For Life Ozlem's Turkish Table Unicorns in the Kitchen