Braaied Picanha with Star Anise Carrots
Fire up the coals and get ready for a feast! This braaied 28-day-aged picanha is all about bold, beefy flavour with a melt-in-your-mouth tenderness. Slow cooked over the flames, it develops a beautifully charred crust while staying juicy inside. The nutty, herb-packed pistachio pesto adds a fresh, savoury kick, while star anise-glazed carrots and creamy yoghurt bring warmth and balance. Simple, flavourful, and utterly irresistible.
Easy
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes plus 25 minutes resting time
Ingredients:
- 1 x Woolworths Matured Picanha Beef Rump
- 1 T Woolworths Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt and black pepper
- 150 g Woolworths Double Cream Plain Yoghurt, for serving
For star anise carrots:
- 500 g Woolworths Medium Carrots, peeled
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 whole star anise
- Salt and black pepper
- 2 sheets of tin foil
For pistachio and pumpkin seed pesto:
- 120 g Woolworths Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 100 g raw shelled pistachios
- 100 g pumpkin seeds
- 50 g Woolworths Italian Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, grated
- 1 garlic clove
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 1 lemon, zested
- Maldon sea salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
Cooking instructions:
- Preheat the braai to 190°C, with the fire stacked to one side.
- Rub the picanha with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper.
- Cook on the other side of the fire turning every 5 minutes till cooked to 52°C (medium rare) 60°C for a medium, leave to rest for 25 minutes.
- Put 2 sheets of tin foil down flat and place the carrots, top and tail, together. Dress with the oil, salt and pepper.
- Lay the herbs and star anise on top and wrap the foil tightly.
- Cook on the braai (not over the hot coals but to the side for 30–40 minutes, till the carrots are tender.
- In a large frying pan over a high heat, add the olive oil, then the pumpkin seeds and clove of garlic till the pumpkin seeds start to pop. Once they start popping, add the pistachios and cook till all the seeds have finished popping.
- Pour all the ingredients into a blender, blend till smooth and season to taste.
- To serve: spread the yoghurt over the base of the plate, layer with carrots, thinly sliced beef and finish with the pesto and resting juices.
- Chef’s tip. You can store the pesto in a jar for up to 2 weeks in the fridge, and you can also use it as a great marinade for meats or fish.
Drink with Woolworths Paul Cluver Pinot Noir
This elegant Pinot Noir is a fine example of a cool climate wine, showing ripe cherries and youngberries with hints of white mushrooms on the nose. The flavours of forest berries, almond and notes of marzipan. The wine is perfectly balanced with a lingering finish.