Portuguese · Beef
Portuguese prego with green piri-piri

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Method
- STEP 1
- Rub the garlic over the steaks then put in a sandwich bag and tip in the olive oil, sherry vinegar and parsley stalks. Smoosh everything together, then use a rolling pin to bash the steaks a few times. Leave for 1-2 hours.
- STEP 2
- To make the sauce, put all the ingredients into a blender with 1 tbsp water and whizz until as smooth as possible. This will make more than you’ll need for the recipe but will keep for a week in an airtight jar.
- STEP 3
- Heat a griddle or frying pan to high. Brush away the garlic and parsley stalks from the steaks and season well. Sear the steaks for 2 minutes on each side then rest on a plate. Put the ciabatta halves onto the plate, toasted-side down, to soak up any juices.
- STEP 4
- Slice the steaks then stuff into the rolls with the green sauce and rocket.
Cooking notes
When scaling protein-led dishes, weigh the meat rather than counting pieces, and remember that the pan size limits how much you can sear at once.
For volume-to-weight conversions of any ingredient — flour, sugar, butter, salts — use the ingredient converter. To translate the recipe's oven temperature between °C, °F and gas mark, see the temperature converter.
When you scale this recipe up or down, remember that cooking time does not scale linearly. A doubled cake takes longer, but not twice as long; a doubled soup takes roughly twice as long. The cooking-time guide gives sensible starting estimates by dish geometry.
Recipe video
Portuguese prego with green piri-piri
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OpenCooking time
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OpenIngredient density
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OpenFrom the journal
Original essays on the small details.
The why behind the technique — original writing on the ingredient and equipment choices that separate a good cook from a frustrated one.
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Where this recipe sits in the wider tradition.
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