Red Curry Steak and Cauliflower Crostini
The bright and spicy flavors of red curry make this steak and cauliflower crostini really pop! We have all had steak crostini before, but the twist of marinating the steak in some red curry paste, and serving it on cauliflower that is pureed with coconut milk is what makes this version special. Red curry typically is a coconut based dish, so everything here just goes so well together. What red curry usually doesn’t have though, is crusty bread! The toasted and garlic rubbed baguette slices pair so well with the cauliflower and spicy steak!
The idea for this recipe
Besides dip, crostini is my favorite party finger food. I realized I hadn’t made some in a while, and the perfect opportunity came up last week when some friends were hanging out at my place for an hour before we all went out for the night. I wasn’t originally planning to go Thai with this, and just do marinated steak with a cauliflower mash, but as I was coming up with a marinade idea, I realized I had a jar of red curry paste and a can of coconut milk kicking around. The flavors for this red curry steak crostini immediately came together in my head and I went for it. Everyone loved them!
If you want to make your own curry paste instead of using leftovers like I did, I love the Authentic Thai Red Curry Paste recipe from Hot Thai Kitchen!
Roasting the cauliflower
I like my cauliflower to be charred. Even though we are blending this up, the char flavor will be a key component in the red curry steak crostini. Salt the cauliflower and toss it on a pan with some oil. Roast at 450 for about 20 minutes. Fone once, you don’t need to worry about overcooking the cauliflower into a soggy mess because we are blending it up anyways.
Some nice char!
Once it is browned, I added the coconut milk to the pan just to make sure to get all the browned bits off the pan and into the sauce. Watch out though, some pans might do that popping thing due to the sudden temperature change.
Blending the cauliflower
Blended up with the coconut milk and some of the curry paste until smooth. A perfect base for our red curry steak crostini.
Cooking the steak
This is what we in New England call “sirloin tips”. You might be able to find the same cut of meat in other regions as a bavette steak. If you can’t find it, you can do this with skirt steak. Cut it into chunks, then put it into a bag with curry paste, fish sauce, a pinch of sugar, and lime juice.
After a few hours, take it out of the marinade and grill on high heat to char on the outside and cook medium in the middle.
Once the red curry steak cools a few minutes, slice it thin against the grain.
Serving the Red Curry Steak and Cauliflower Crostini
Cut the bread and toast it. Rub the toasted edges with garlic cloves. Then add a smear of the cauliflower. Finally top with some steak!
Yummmm.
A little scallion brightens it up a bit. The jarred red curry paste isnt really as bright or refreshing as red curry is when it is made fresh or served at a restaurant so things like lime juice and scallion help wake these red curry steak crostini up.
Perfect finger food for your next get together!
Twists on Red Curry Steak and Cauliflower Crostini
You could marinate the steak with any color of the Thai curry rainbow that is your favorite. You could also do this with marinated mushrooms if you wanted to go vegetarian. Of course you could also do mashed potato instead of cauliflower!
If you love finger foods that use steak, check out my steak and basil deviled eggs, or these ribeye sliders with tostones!
Red Curry Steak and Cauliflower Crostini
Ingredients
Steak
- 1 pound sirloin tips
- 4 tablespoons red curry paste
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 lime (juice)
Cauliflower
- 1 head cauliflower
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon red curry paste
- 1 baguette
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 green onions sliced thin
- 1 lime (juice)
Instructions
- Marinade steak tips in a store bought red curry paste, with a splash of fish sauce and lime juice, for about an hour or 2.
- Chop up a head of cauliflower and toss it onto a baking sheet with some olive oil and 2 whole garlic cloves. Roast at 450 for about 20 minutes, stirring once or twice, until brown and tender.
- Mix the coconut milk and the 1 tablespoon of curry paste in a small bowl. Pour the coconut milk mixture on to the pan to deglaze and scrape up all those browned bits stuck to the pan. Wait a few minutes after it comes out of the oven before doing this, and beware the pan might do that popping thing from the sudden temperature change.
- Put the cauliflower and juices into a food processor and process until smooth, adding more coconut milk if needed.
- Finally, grill the steak over high heat. Cook to medium and char on the outsled. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then slice against the grain.
- Toast up some baguette slices. When they come out of the broiler or toaster, rub the cut clove of garlic over them. Top with the cauliflower, steak, a few slices of green onion, and a squeeze of lime
Approximately how much steak is used in this recipe?
I used about a pound of sirloin tips for one baguette. I added enough curry paste until the steak was coated, about 3 or 4 tablespoons.