The best side dishes for steak

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

There are many types of steaks and each of them requires choosing the right side dish. Whether it is fish or meat, their taste must be properly emphasized, and not interrupted or drowned out at all. Below you will find information on which steak side dish is best to choose depending on the type of meat.

What is the side dish for

It is not for nothing that the word garnish is translated from French as “decoration”. A piece of meat or fish lying alone on a plate would not look as appetizing as it looks in the company of ruddy potatoes or baked vegetables. But besides this, the side dish has other purposes. Some of them are capable, like sorbents, of taking on a certain amount of fat. These include brown rice, zucchini or cauliflower. And others are able to improve the digestibility of the whole dish as a whole. And first of all, these are vegetable side dishes. Do not forget that adding some piquancy to the dish is no less important. And the garnish also does a great job with this task.

This is a huge number of functions that a modest addition to steaks performs. But, how to choose the right side dish for them? We'll talk about this later.

Beef

Choosing a side dish for a beef steak is a very responsible and not easy task. The meat itself is quite expensive, and its taste does not tolerate combination with aggressive additions and even flavors. Everything must be very delicate. The simplest and most obvious side dish is potatoes. It can be mashed potatoes or fried potatoes, to which you can add a slight hint of mushroom.

But asparagus, spinach or Brussels sprouts are perfect for vegetables. They can be both boiled and stewed with cream in a pan. What absolutely should not be served with beef steak is pineapple or spicy stewed cabbage. These side dishes will reduce all the pleasure of eating meat to zero.

Pork

Like chicken, pork is a light-colored meat with a rather neutral flavor. That is why it can be supplemented with brighter and more unusual flavors. So, the same pineapples that were banned for beef meat will be an excellent side dish for pork steak.

In the Czech Republic, where they love pork, it is served with stewed sauerkraut. It is easy to imagine what a rich taste such a side dish has. The almost universal potato also perfectly emphasizes the juicy pork steak. You can safely add hot or s alty spices to mashed potatoes. It could be wasabi, pesto, green onions, or even blue cheese. As for other popular vegetable side dishes, you need to be more careful with it. Asparagus or spinach do not have a powerfultaste. Therefore, in the same plate with pork, they will create a rather pale and indistinct composition, which we would not like at all.

Lamb

Don't ignore meat like lamb. It is, oddly enough, quite dietary. Compared to pork, it has almost 3 times less fat. But the taste of lamb is much more intense.

As many people know, people from the Caucasus are big fans of lamb. Here they should learn how to choose a side dish. Greens and vegetables are the best, but do not forget to add onion and garlic to them. The same goes for fried potatoes or even pilaf. If you decide to add lamb to pilaf, then you should definitely put barberries and sweet carrots there, which will perfectly emphasize the taste of meat.

But lamb steak can be served with a saute of various vegetables fried with garlic. But in no case do not use anything with a creamy taste as a side dish. After such an experiment, you will no longer want to try lamb.

Fish

Fish steaks are just as popular as their meat counterparts. They can be prepared from various varieties such as flounder, tuna and, of course, salmon. We will try to choose the perfect side dish for salmon steak now.

Salmon is one of the few foods that can be served with cold side dishes. And it can be both vegetables and fruits. For example, a few slices of a green apple will look great.or a couple of slices of tomato with bell pepper. As for warm side dishes, the first thing to remember is vegetables in a creamy sauce. Red fish goes very well with creamy notes. If you do not like such sauces, then vegetables can be stewed with mushrooms or made into a stew by adding any favorite spices.

Groats, perfectly suited to salmon, of course, in the first place - fig. But using pasta is strongly discouraged. Such a heavy side dish can completely clog the taste of the fish. And other cereals are a rather controversial option as a side dish.

Unusual options

There are also side dishes that are quite rare, but they are completely undeservedly deprived of attention. Without going into details, we simply offer a list of them:

• wheat sprouts with sesame oil;
• sautéed soybeans;
• quinoa with vegetables;
• bulgur with butter;
• stewed couscous;
• chickpeas with Adyghe cheese;
• cauliflower puree;
• glazed baby vegetables (carrots, corn).

Many of these recipes are truly restaurant-style, but there is no difficulty in their preparation. The thing is, finding the right, quality ingredients isn't always easy. But if you still succeeded, then you should definitely try to cook something from the list we have collected.

Seitan meat

And yet, we should not forget about such a large group of the population of our planet asvegetarians. There is a way to please them with a steak, even if it has certain taste differences from the usual, meat. There is such a thing as seitan meat. It is it that can replace the usual pork or beef dish for us. We are ready to share his recipe with you. It is necessary to mix 3 cups of flour with one glass of vegetable broth and mix the resulting mass thoroughly with your hands or using a food processor. Put the finished lump into a pot of water and mash a little. The water becomes cloudy and needs to be changed. Repeat these steps until it becomes transparent. This will significantly reduce the initial size of the test. Next, add all your favorite spices to boiling water. In the future, the taste of seitan meat will depend on the set of spices. Boil the resulting mass for about 25-30 minutes.

From ready-made seitan meat, you can cook all the same dishes as from regular meat. For example, burgers, plov or even steaks. Mushrooms or fresh, crispy vegetables can be a side dish for such a steak.

In closing

Now you know all the best side dishes for steaks and you can create real culinary masterpieces at home, no matter what kind of meat your relatives or friends prefer. The main thing is not to be afraid to experiment and cook only from fresh and high-quality products.