Moroccan Steak & Chickpea Salad

We all know that summer in New Zealand is the BEST time for salads. A few staple ingredients, a dressing and some seasoning can be the making of a great salad; add some freshly grilled NZ meat or fish and you have the perfect meal! I wanted to transform the humble Kiwi salad into something a little more gourmet with a Moroccan influence - think cumin, paprika, dates, parsley and pomegranate paired with the rich flavour of the new Silver Fern Farms Beef Flat Iron Steaks (they say these are the 'ugly' steaks, but man are they tasty and so tender!). This cut is hugely popular in the US and is a newbie in NZ kitchens; it comes from the shoulder of the animal, it's trimmed of all silverskin and fat which leaves a hugely tender cut of beef. 

As seen in the video above, I took 2 Silver Fern Farms Beef Flat Iron Steaks and pan fried them for 3 minutes on each side before resting, then served them on a salad of the following ingredients: 
  • 1tbsp each of parsley and coriander
  • 1tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2tsp each of paprika and ground cinnamon
  • 2tbsp olive oil
  • juice of half a lemon
  • 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1tbsp sliced almonds
  • 4-5 pitted dates, sliced
  • 1 can of chickpeas, drained
  • 1/2 cauliflower, roasted
  • 1 cup green salad leaves
  • 1/2 pomegranate, just the seeds
This salad is the perfect main sized meal for two, or an entree for four! I love the spices in this recipe, and the sweetness from the dates works so well the Flat Iron Steaks! I'm also a huge fan of pomegranate, which looks beautiful and adds a little burst of texture. Enjoy!
Thanks to Silver Fern Farms for making this post possible, all content and opinions are my own.