Horse Steak

I was always aware that horse was edible, but in Denmark where I grew up it was somehow considered inferior meat that most people did not want. It did not figure prominently in the meat section of the supermarkets I frequented in California either. But now that I live close to France it is quite easy to come by. Several options exist in the supermarket, and I have on several occasions seen local restaurants advertise horse steak as special of the day.

Of course I had to try it. As you can see in the picture (click to enlarge) it is easy to recognise it at the store - even if one happens not to be familiar with the French, German, or Italian words for horse. Actually, the taste is strikingly similar to beef - I guess this is mainly surprising to me based on people's reluctance to eat it where I come from.

Ingredients:
- horse steaks
- salt & pepper
- oil from sun dried tomatoes
- 1 medium red onion
- 200 g (7 oz) mushrooms
- 2 tsp capers
- 3 tbsp sour cream
quinoa:
- 2.5 dL (1 cup) quinoa
- 5 dL (2 cups) water
- salt
- fresh mint and basil

Quinoa (which I've mentioned briefly before here) was prepared simply by bringing water to a boil, then adding half the volume quinoa and salt, turning the heat down and letting stand till the water was absorbed (about 15-20 minutes), then freshly chopped mint and basil was stirred in.

In a large pan I heated up oil (leftover from a glass of sun dried tomatoes) and when warm I put in the steaks seasoned only with salt and pepper. The horse steaks I bought were rather thinly sliced and required only a few minutes of cooking, after which I removed them from the pan and added onion rings. After a few minutes this was followed by sliced mushrooms and a few minutes still later capers and sour cream - was covered and let stand for a few minutes.

Served with a quick salad (lettuce & cucumber) and dressing like the one I mentioned here.