I Heart Steak Sandwiches!

Hi!

I know I've been terribly lax lately, but I'm not good on Fridays. Or weekends. Or a lot of the days in between.

{Image source: FotoosVanRobin, flickr}

So, here's a little update from last week. Thursday night I cam home from work, tired. And I was going to be all alone, since my sister was working and the bf was studying. And what do I look like, a socialising machine? I was staying home with my book! And I wanted something that would be warm, would cook quickly and was satisfying. So, wandering around the shop, I decided on steak sandwiches. I like my steak quite rare, I only cook it for a few minutes a side, so what could be quicker? I had most of the other ingredients, salad and so on, at home, so I got a couple of small, floury Portuguese rolls, and I was away.

I cannot explain how incredibly delightful these were, and I don't think it would been expensive, especially if spread over more people. I'm a bit of a meat piggy, so I shared one steak between two small rolls, and took the other to work for lunch the following day, which was delicious. So here it is, my recipe for delightful steak sandwiches!

Steak Sandwiches
Serves as many as you cook steak for. This feeds 1 greedy, and 2 normal people.

{Image source: Sifu Renka, flickr}

Ingredients:

2 Rump/rib eye/porterhouse/sirloin steaks (amount varies depending on how many people you're feeding, but average one steak person, with a little leftover for second helpings if they're a hungry bunch, and choose whichever cut makes you happiest!)
Tomato sauce - I had some Ina Paarman's tomato and basil pasta sauce left on the fridge, which worked wonders on these rolls, but ordinary ketchup would be fine too
Tomato, thinly sliced
Cucumber, thinly sliced
Lettuce broken into managably small pieces for the rolls
Red and/or yellow pepper, sliced thinly (optional, I had some in the fridge that needed finishing, and it was delicious)
Couple slices cheese (any kind really, I usually have gouda or cheddar in the house, so I used that)
Salt and pepper to taste
Any other veggie you think would work well, I think fried onions would've been lovely, but I didn't have the energy to fry them!  

Method

1. Chop veggies thinly, so they're easy to lay on a sandwich or roll. 
2. Cut off excess fat from the steaks, and season with a bit of salt, white pepper and some braai seasoning, if thats what you like.  
3. Heat a cast iron, or heavy based frying pan with a little oil sprayed on the bottom. You want it quite hot, since you want to seal the outside of the steak quickly, to prevent all the juices leaking out during cooking. When the pan is hot, place the steaks in the pan, for a few seconds on one side, then flip to the other, to seal both sides. 
4. When both sides are brown, turn the heat down a little, to prevent burning the steak. 
5. Cook for a few minutes each side, turning often. Don't allow it to burn, and don't cook too long! 
6. I know I fly in the face of some when I say this, but a decent steak is at its best when its still pink in the middle! 
7. Good quality steak can be eaten nearly raw, so don't be frightened of it!! I, personally, like mine to be more than pink, I prefer my steak still mooing slightly, and cook it less than I've advised here. 
8. When the steak is cooked to your satisfaction, remove it from the pan, and let it cool, while you spread the salad ingredients, cheese, sauce and so on onto the rolls. 
9. When that's done to your satisfaction, the steaks will have cooled enough to handle, so slice the steak, into slice into 1cm thick strips and lay on top one side of the roll. 
10. I like to put the cheese next to the warm steak, and let it melt slightly, but it really doesn't matter which way you do it! The whole thing took less than 20 minutes, and I was eating and reading happily! 

Make these when you're tired, and you won't be sorry! You can serve if with chips, if you like, or to make it stretch further, but it's great just as a standalone meal! Enjoy!