Sun Basket’s New Indian-inspired Steak au Poivre and Me
s Sun Basket deliveries are usually on Tuesday and Wednesday
(Gerry Furth-Sides) Innovative, inventive Justine Kelly, co-founder and Executive Chef and the team at Sun Basket www.sunbasket.com keeps key ingredients, such as of crushed peppercorns, in the classic French Steak Au Poivre, defined a dish defined “prepared or served with a generous amount of usually coarsely ground black pepper”. But she replaces the traditional, heavy ingredients of Cognac and cream that explode the calorie count. Instead, this recipe calls for lighter but still rich coconut milk, ghee, and chilies used in Indian kitchens. Sherry vinegar is used in place of brandy. Mushroom powder lends a bit of a French touch.
Add the stellar quality ingredients to this the novel combination and it is, in the words of my favorite Tv chef, Maneet Chauhan, “absolutely delicious.” Truth be told, pulling out the ingredients from the bag made me feel a little bit like I was on “Chopped” – except here a recipe is provided.
“Steak Au Poivre” done healthy SUN BASKET star still features crushed peppercorn coated beef
Sun Basket is a meal delivery service created by Cofounder Kelly that prides itself on making healthy cooking easy, right in tune with many other “new kids on the block.” //localfoodeater.com/new-pangea-nutrition-brings-mediterranean-diet-to-usa/
Sun Basket differentiates itself not only with its high-quality ingredients but by adding organic and non-GMO ingredients in a choice of Paleo, Vegetarian, Seafood, Poultry and Family meal kits. Sun Basket’s App also allows a subscriber to view all recipes, skip weeks, and manage an account.
The other two ethnic-influenced recipes for this week included Orange chipotle-glazed pork with coleslaw and roasted sweet potato and Moroccan lamb merguez patties with warm carrot salad, whimsically done up in julienne form “carrot salad” instead of the expected shredded one.
We start with a brown “grocery bag” and a package of beef top sirloin steak, carefully packed in an insulated box complete with recycling instructions.
Sun Basket’s Solid insulation with recyclable bags
The “little brown bag” of SUN BASKET groceries
Inside this little black bag was the best top sirloin steak I have ever eaten. I remain incredulous that this was Beef “Top Sirloin” Steak. My mom’s family of 15 were major meat brokers in Europe and major players here in the states too, so I know the best.
Sun Basket sourced beef top sirloin with the texture almost of filet and the taste of ribeye
Relatively elusive, perishable and prepared ingredients are provided in the amount for the recipe, such as coconut milk and spices. The powdered mushrooms are a very clever “French” touch, replacing perishable mushrooms which are not easily transported. I would substitute shallots, used in the classic French version of Steak Au Poivre, for the onion simply because of texture; I understand that they were probably chosen to balance out the lighter milk for heavy cream. Melissa’s Produce easy to peel and slice pearl onions would work too.
The ingredients laid out on a cutting board
Below is the two-page section of the beautiful instruction pamphlet. Fun tips for what kids can join in with are included. A Market Watch section informs the cook of any changes in prep when items are seasonal and replaced with a similar ingredient, such as turnips or sweet potatoes replacing the parsnips. A list of nutrition per serving is also included. I realized I’ve been counting half the calories for a similar meal till now!
If I would change anything it would be to have the recipes on a small card in standard recipe format instead of prepping as you cook. This unwieldy and unnecessarily daunting method seems to be de riguerer in-home delivery meal services.
Note: It did take twice as long to roast the novel parsnips and Brussels sprouts as indicated for a perfectly tender inside, crisped outside.
The finished product of Steak Au Poivre
Another tip: crusting the steaks on only one side allows the beef to sear better while building up flavor for the pan sauce. The other half of the peppercorns go into the sauce to retain the spice flavor.
The following is a recipe for the classic Steak Au Poivre recipe on Epicurious.com. I would eat the Sun Basket version anytime! Or any recipe by Sun Basket I have read so far!
Gerry Furth-Sides 
Barbara Hansen 
Chef-owner Alain Cohen 
Roberta Deen 
Jose Martinez 
Nivedita Basu 