No Time to Cook
It was during my second meal of toast with peanut butter that I realized, when you spend five hours a day with your fingers glued to the keyboard, staring at the screen in front of you, there is little time for cooking. I felt guilty leaving my post to spend the four seconds it took to push the lever on the toaster down to make my meal. As a chef on a yacht, I really should know better than to eat toast all day long.
My stomach growled and rebelled against the three cups of coffee I'd consumed on an empty stomach. I kicked myself for not having planned an easy meal or two for the days when I am writing. And vowed to create something a little more substantial for the next day.
I would imagine, it is the same with the time it takes to work on the boat projects. By the look of Christine's post on Friday, she has little time to cook as well. So, with the time constraints set by quitting your job, moving onto a boat and writing, I would like to offer this super simple lunch (or dinner…or really breakfast, too) that can be made in twenty minutes the night before, left to marinate and then grilled in five to ten minutes; allowing you the time and energy to spend the rest of the day writing or scraping the hull of the boat.
Grilled Hanger Steaks with Salsa Verde
4 hanger steaks (skirt or flank steaks work as well)
½ teaspoon sea salt
Salsa Verde:
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 anchovies
¼ cup salted capers
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, diced
8 grinds of black pepper
1 bunch Italian parsley
¼ bunch basil
½ cup olive oil
Place ingredients for salsa verde in a food processor (or blender, or chop finely by hand), and puree to smooth. Marinate the hanger steaks in half the marinade for 2-24 hours.
Preheat the grill.
Sprinkle ½ teaspoon sea salt over the meat. Grill over high heat for 3 minutes each side. (the roundish shape will naturally produce 4 sides to grill) for medium-rare. Transfer meat to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes
Slice the steak into ½ inch slices. Serve with a side of salsa verde for sauce.
Serves 4
Victoria Allman,has been following her stomach around the globe for twelve years as a yacht chef. She writes about her floating culinary odyssey through Europe, the Caribbean, Nepal, Vietnam, Africa and the South Pacific in her first book, Sea Fare: A Chef's Journey Across the Ocean.
SEAsoned: A Chef's Journey with Her Captain, Victoria's second book is the hilarious look at a yacht chef's first year working for her husband while they cruise from the Bahamas to Italy, France, Greece and Spain; trying to stay afloat.
Victoria has been a columnist for Dockwalk, an International magazine for crew members aboard yachts for the past three years. Her column, Dishing It Up, is a humorous look at cooking for the rich and famous in an ever-moving galley.
She also regularly contributes tales of her tasty adventures to Marina Life, OnDeck Skipper and OceanLines.
You can read more of her food-driven escapades through her web-site, www.victoriaallman.com
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