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• Seared steak salad with cherry tomatoes, watercress & sikil pak

Seared steak salad with cherry tomatoes, watercress & sikil pak

• Thomasina Miers

Published: September 10, 2025 at 10:43 AM

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Serves 2

More effort

Prep: 40 mins

Cook: 10 mins

A star rating of 3 out of 5.5 ratingsRate

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Sikil is Mayan for tomato and pak for pumpkin seed. The dip is eaten all over the Yucatán but I also love it as a sauce. I had a spicy one like this at Carousel in London and was so mesmerised by it that I begged them for clues. Here is my version, delicious with steak salad and incredible as a dip to whet the appetite with its spicy, smoky aromatic depths.

This recipe has been extracted from Thomasina Miers new cookbook, Mexican Table (£28, Quadrille). Photographs Matt Russell.

Egg-free

High-fibre

Low sugar

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Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

• 200g fillet, sirloin or T-bone steak

• knob of butter

• 3 tbsp olive oil

  plus a drizzle for frying

• 100g watercress

• 200g cherry tomatoes

  quartered

• 2 spring onions

  finely chopped

• 1 tbsp apple balsamic vinegar

For the sikil pak

• 100g pumpkin seeds

  plus 25g to garnish

• 2 chiles de àrbol

• ½ cinnamon stick

  or 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 2 tsp fennel seeds

• 1 star anise

• 1 tsp black peppercorns

• 1 tsp Mexican oregano or thyme leaves

• 3 large, ripe tomatoes

• 5 large garlic cloves

• 1 red onion

  cut into wedges

• 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 4 tbsp rapeseed oil

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Nutrition: per serving

• kcal1048

• fat83g

• saturates15g

• carbs26g

• sugars14g

• fibre12g

  high

• protein43g

• salt2.8g

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Method

• step 1

  Remove the steak from the fridge an hour before cooking and season generously with salt and pepper.

• step 2

  To make the sikil pak, toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 8-10 mins, or until most have popped and are looking golden. Transfer them to a powerful blender and blitz for a minute.

• step 3

  Toast the chillies in the same pan for 15-20 seconds on each side until smelling fragrant and nutty, trying not to burn them or they will taste bitter. Add to the blender and, keeping the pan hot, toast the cinnamon, fennel seeds, star anise and peppercorns for a minute or two until fragrant, then tip into the blender, along with the oregano or thyme. Whizz the whole lot for 10-20 seconds.

• step 4

  Add the tomatoes, garlic and onion to the frying pan. Increase the heat to high and dry-roast, turning occasionally with tongs, to char all over. The garlic will blacken in patches and become soft within 6-8 mins. Remove the garlic cloves from the pan, peel and add to the mixture in the blender. The onion will take another 5 mins, and the tomatoes another 5 on top of the onions – the charring will add a lovely smoky flavour to your sauce. Once charred, add to the blender with the vinegar, 3 tbsp of the oil, 2-3 tbsp water and 1 tsp salt, blitzing the sauce for 3-4 mins until the mixture is smooth.

• step 5

  Heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the sauce and cook for 10-15 mins, stirring frequently, to allow the ingredients to meld. Taste – you may need more salt and a touch more vinegar to bring out the flavours. It should taste spicy and beautifully aromatic. Thin down with a few splashes of water if necessary.

• step 6

  When you are ready to eat, heat a frying pan or griddle pan over a high heat for a few minutes until smoking hot. Add a knob of butter and a drizzle of oil and cook the steaks for a few minutes per side, depending how you like your steak. Rest for 5 mins somewhere warm.

• step 7

  Meanwhile, toss the watercress, tomatoes and spring onions in a bowl with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season with a little salt and pepper. Cut the steak into thin slices against the grain. Serve with the salad and the sikil pak either spooned onto warm plates or in a warm jug at the table. Warm new potatoes are a great addition. Serve at once.

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A star rating of 3 out of 5.5 ratings

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