Creole Beef Skewers with Sweet Potato Salad

Whenever I’m in a bookstore I find the first place I browse is the cooking section and then home decorating.  Occasionally, I find cookbooks in a kitchen shop that grab my attention which is what happened when I found this gem of a book at the Paderno factory store in Bayers Lake.  Molasses Inspirations is all about that sweet, golden-brown syrup I grew up with and still use today.  To my delight, I was even able to find Crosby molasses in Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok.  This was packaged under the title, Grandma Molasses.  The book is a collection of recipes from chefs across Canada and showcases just how molasses can be used in sweet and savory creations.  Because of its unusual properties, molasses has many uses beyond that of a straightforward food additive.  Check Crosby’s site for the 126 ideas where molasses is used for other than food.

Serves 4
recipe adapted from Cathedral Freehouse
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Creole Mustard Sauce:
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup (60ml) molasses
1/2 cup (125ml) mayonnaise
2 tablespoons (30ml) white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons (10ml) Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup (125ml) minced onion
1/4 cup (60ml) minced tomato
1/4 teaspoon (2ml) turmeric
1/4 teaspoon (2ml) freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon (2ml) fresh thyme
1 tablespoon (15ml) garlic, minced

Salad:
1/2 cup (125ml) cooked sweet potato, diced
half green pepper, thinly sliced
1shallot, minced
8 cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters

Lemon Thyme Dressing:
3oz (90ml) fresh lemon juice
1 cup (250ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon (15ml) sugar
1 teaspoon (5ml) salt
1 teaspoon (5ml) freshly ground pepper
30g fresh thyme

Beef skewers:
1 lb (450g) beef loin
fresh thyme, for garnish

For the mustard sauce, mix all ingredients well to make a creamy sauce and reserve half of the marinade for the beef.  Put the other half into a squeeze bottle for the topping.  For the dressing, rub the thyme between your fingers to release the aromas and add to the ingredients.  Shake ingredients in a jar and shake again before adding to the salad.

Marinate the beef for 2 hours or more in the mustard sauce.  Cut into 1 inch cubes and thread onto 4 skewers.  Grill until beef is medium-rare.  To serve, toss the salad with lemon thyme dressing and place on plates.  Add beef skewers on top of salad and squeeze a zigzag of creaole mustard sauce over entire dish.  Garnish with fresh thyme.


The Culinary Chase’s Note:  The molasses helped create a touch of a caramelized coating on the beef.  If you had any marinade left over like I did, why not try using it next time by tossing it with root vegetables before roasting. When purchasing molasses for the first time, make sure the label says fancy molasses (light in color and tangy sweet) as blackstrap molasses is very dark and has a robust if not bitter flavor.  Enjoy!