When you’re catering for guests during their South African safari, it pays to be versatile and this a recipe from Thornybush Lodge fits the bill.

You can use whatever kind of meat you prefer to make this delicious main course salad. Chicken, lamb, beef and even venison all work well in this fresh salad. Non meat-eaters can use mushrooms, tofu or brinjal as a meat alternative.

Mint Dressing

• 2 Garlic cloves, peeled
• ½ cup Fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbl Muscovado sugar
• ½ cup Fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced
• ½ t Salt
• 5 Tbl Soy sauce
• 1 Red chilli, seeded & thinly sliced
• 4 Tbl Sweet chilli sauce

To Make the Dressing:

1. Mash the garlic and salt into a paste.
2. Place the lemon juice, soy sauce, sugar, chillies and mint in a bowl. Then add the garlic paste and stir continuously until the sugar has dissolved
3. Place the dressing in the fridge and leave it to stand for ½ an hour

Spiced Steak & Green Bean Salad

• 450g Rump steak or vegetarian alternative of your choice
• 2 T Sunflower oil
• 375g Green beans
• ¾ cup Spring onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 1¼ cup Fresh bean sprouts
• 1 Red pepper, thinly sliced
• Handful of cashew nuts
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

1. Warm up a skillet and grill the steak until it is medium rare. Transfer the cooked steak onto a chopping board and allow it to rest for 15 minutes.
2. Heat up the rest of the oil in a frying pan and fry the spring onions over a low heat until they are just soft and drain off any excess oil.
3. Cut the steak across the grain into thin slivers (about ¾ cm wide).
4. Trim, slice and cook the green beans until crisp and tender.
5. Toss the beans with the red pepper, spring onions, bean sprouts and cashews.
6. Assemble the meat on a platter and spoon the dressing over it just before serving, taking care not to swamp the meat. Add a portion of salad to the plate and enjoy.

For maximum enjoyment, it’s important to use only the freshest ingredients when crafting a salad, that’s why we call on our community gardens to supply us with only the best produce for our guests.

To find out more about the hard-working folk behind these initiatives, head on over to our community pages. Even better, get in touch to experience all the joys of a south African safari with Thornybush for yourself.