Hey Ho! Steak Lovers

Happy New Year, food lovers! It has been ages since I last blogged about food – doesn’t mean that I haven’t been chewing, chomping and generally enjoying local and world cuisines. Just had a lot on my plate- har har har. Bad jokes apart, still been taking in and capturing the visuals to get the saliva going.

I thought I would re-start this new year with a topic which draws strong reactions- steak! 

So, firstly, how do you verify how done your steak is? Below are some degrees:

I strongly recommend you go for Medium rare as it is the most juicy and mouth-melting experience you can come across. I am not a huge fan of Blue coz I really don't like my cattle mooing at me but I get it when people want that. 

Tthere is nothing like a good, juicy steak once in a while. But not just any steak, a well prepared medium rare steak which is so moist and tender that you could be toothless, for it just melts in your mouth. And what ho when it is charcoal grilled? Oh yum! Think cave. The main pic is one such steak, accompanied by polenta and veg. And wine. Mmmmm

I usually prefer my steak without any sauce, just some salt and pepper milled over it seconds before my cutlery does its fine work dissecting it into mouthfuls of atavistic delight. But I am not averse to trying different versions:

On the left you have a Saigon steak where the meat was pre-prepared with a rub of exotic spices and herbs (lemongrass a major ingredient)  before being char-grilled. It came accompanied with a small bowl of fragrant, fried rice. Steak and rice really works.  It was divine and in a favourite restaurant of mine which, alas, got closed down as the chef decided to move to another country. RIP Saigon steak. Sigh........

Here is me going with a bolder dish, steak in a wine sauce. 

Quick and easy sauce recipe? For 2?

Cook the steaks to your liking.

Pour 1 cup red wine into a skillet; scrape up and dissolve any bits of browned food in it. Whisk 1 cup beef broth and 2 tbsp Dijon mustard into the wine mixture and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring often, until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Slowly whisk cream into the sauce and let stand to thicken, about 5 more minutes. Pour on our steaks. 

For a richer experience, you can put port and foie gras instead. For 2 again.

In a saucepan heat 1 tbsp olive oil and then add 1 finely chopped shallot and a clove of garlic, sautéing them until translucent.

Raise the heat to medium-high and toss in 1/2 pound foie gras cut into 1 inch pieces. Sauté until they’re nicely caramelized (be very careful not to burn the foie gras).

Once done, pour in 1/2 cup sherry and cook the mixture, scraping up the brown bits, until the liquid is reduced to a syrup consistency.

Add 1 cup heavy cream and simmer until the sauce is reduced by half. When reduced, transfer mixture to a blender  and blend the sauce until it is very smooth. Strain it and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour on your steaks

Here is another lovely steak, pan fried and accompanied by potatoes Dauphinoise (recipe below) and a wine sauce on the side. 

Put 250ml double cream, 250ml milk and 2 garlic cloves into a large saucepan and bring to a simmer.

Slice 4 large potatoes to about 3-4mm, add them to the cream and simmer till cooked.

Make sure to stop the potatoes sinking and catching on the bottom of the pan.

Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon and place in a wide shallow ovenproof dish so that they are about 5cm in depth.

Pour over the garlic infused cream (discarding the garlic) – just enough to seep through and leave a little moisture on the surface.

Optional 50g grated gruyère cheese on top. Bake for 30 mins until the potatoes are soft and browned – increase the heat for 5 mins if not brown enough.

Here is yet another idea, why not chop up your cooked steak into easy to eat slices and serve with a chimichurri sauce? This is like an Argentinian kickass pesto.
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsps red wine vinegar
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
3-4 cloves garlic , finely chopped
Optional: 1-2 small red chilies finely chopped
3/4 tsp dried oregano
Salt to taste
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes to release all of the flavours into the oil before using. Ideally, let it sit for more than 2 hours, if time allows.

Bistecca alla Fiorentina

Traditionally, the meat for Bistecca alla Fiorentina comes from an ancient breed of Tuscan cattle, called the Chianina. This breed of cattle is known for their incredibly flavorful meat.

Once cooked, the steak only needs to be seasoned very simply with a little salt and pepper.

In addition to being steak from a specific breed of cattle, this steak is also a very specific cut, a thick 2-3 inch cut of porterhouse steak! Tis best shared with someone as it is a rather big chunk of meat!

I checked out that this T-bone steak was bigger than my hand as you can see!

And lastly but gratuitiusly: