Warm Salad with Yellow Yam and Seared Steak - Guess Which Ingredient Took the Spotlight Here?

Trying to steer away from the regular cold salad dishes, so decided to roast some veggies and a seared steak to go along. Surprisingly, the steak wasn't the favorite ingredient here, not that I made it almost well-done. It's simply because that yellow yam was so sweet, with texture resembles a well-boiled potato, but filled with honey-scented sweet flavor. So glad that I didn't go for the potatoes but picked up some yellow yams instead. Truly a delight.

Warm salad with yellow yam and seared steak -

Ingredients?

• 400 grams steak 
• 1/2 onion
• 3 small/medium yellow yam
• 1 medium box mixed salad greens (must have arugula in it)
• 1 small can corn kernels
• 1 red bell pepper
• 100 grams small mozzarella balls or other type of milky cheese
• 2 garlic cloves
• Some olive oil
• Some salt
• Some black pepper

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
• 2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
• Small pinch salt
• Small pinch black pepper

How?

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit/204.5 degrees Celsius. Remove the steak from the fridge and let it rest in room temperature for about 10 minutes. 

Peel and cut the yellow yam into smaller chunks. Peel and cut the onion into smaller chunks. Destem and remove the seeds from red bell pepper, then cut the bell pepper into smaller chunks. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Finely chop the oregano. Drain out the liquid from canned corn kernels.

Season some salt and black pepper on both sides of the steak. I actually used one piece of New York steak plus one piece of sirloin, just because these two were on sale since they're about to pass the best before date. That's partly the reason why I seared the steak till almost well-done. Again, the key ingredient here turned out to be the yellow yam, so steak was more so seeking for a meaty bite.

Drizzle some olive oil to a pan and turn to medium high heat. Wait till the surface warms up, transfer the steak over and sear till desired doneness. Once ready, remove from heat and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes, then slice and set aside.

Take a baking sheet, add in red bell pepper, yellow yam, onion, and garlic. Drizzle some olive oil over, season with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Give them a few tosses. 

Into the oven and roast for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, wait till these ingredients cool down a little then transfer them to a big mixing bowl.

Add in drained corn kernels to that bowl also, along with mixed salad greens and selected cheese. I tore some cheese made with goat milk over instead of using small mozzarella cheese balls, it got a strong goat milk scent that might not be favored by all. That's why I put mozzarella first in the recipe, shouldn't go wrong with such popular milky cheese.

Mix all the ingredients under the "dressing" section. Whisk or shake till fully combined.

Pour that dressing to the mixing bowl. Mix well.

Plate salad and top with sliced steak. Grind some more coarse black pepper over.

Make sure to include arugula in the salad. Its distinct peppery note works really well with heavier texture roasted veggies. Arugula also compliments the sweetness from the yellow yam. Remember, must have arugula. 


How about Japanese style cold salad next time?

• Hijiki salad (ひじきサラダ)