To prepare the steaks, first pat them dry and trim off any excess fat or gristle. Let the steaks sit at room temperature for about an hour before cooking.
- four thick 6-ounce steaks (strip-loin, ribeye, or tenderloin)
To prepare the steaks, first pat them dry and trim off any excess fat or gristle. Let the steaks sit at room temperature for about an hour before cooking.
To prepare your mise en place, first mince the garlic. Roll the lemon to soften it and slice it in half. Next, slice the cheese into thin slices and cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise. Roughly chop the parsley and set everything aside.
Wash and spin dry the arugula and place into a bowl. Gather the balsamic vinegar and olive oil for the dressing and set aside. The salad will be tossed just prior to serving the steak.
To cook the dish, preheat a large, stainless-steel pan over medium to medium-high heat. While the pan is heating, liberally season the steaks on all sides with salt and pepper. Once the pan is hot, add the oil, followed by the steaks. After about a minute and a half, turn the steaks over. Turn the heat to medium-low, to avoid burning the bits on the bottom of the pan, as these bits will be used later to make the sauce.
Continue to cook, turning the steaks every couple of minutes until done. Each time you turn the steaks, make sure you place them in the same spot, so the bits underneath don’t burn. Continue flipping the steaks for about 5 to 10 minutes. The time will depend on the thickness of your steaks and how you like them cooked.
When the steaks are done to your liking, transfer to a cooling rack. Place over a plate to capture any juices. Cover loosely with vented foil.
Before starting the sauce, make sure the bits on the bottom of the pan are not burnt. They should be a nice, dark-golden color.
Drain any excess fat, if needed, and turn the heat to medium. Add the tomatoes and let cook for about 30 seconds. Deglaze with the wine, scraping any bits off the bottom. Let the wine reduce, until it is a bit syrupy.
Then add the garlic and stir to combine. Once the tomatoes have softened and just start to break down, season with a bit of salt and pepper. At this point, turn off the heat and bring the tomatoes and sauce together in the center. Cover with the cheese and let the residual heat from the pan soften and slightly melt it. Finish the sauce by sprinkling the parsley and olive oil over top.
While the steaks are resting, turn them over to keep the heat and the juices flowing towards the middle.
While the cheese is melting, add the olive oil (1 tbsp) and balsamic vinegar (3 tbsp) to the arugula. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and gently toss to coat.
Just before serving, squeeze some lemon juice over the sauce. Place a bit of the salad onto a plate and top with one of the steaks. Spoon a few tablespoons of the sauce over the each steak and serve.
If you happen to burn the bits on the bottom of the pan, use a clean pan to make the sauce. Although you'll lose a lot of flavor, you'll avoid any bitterness.
By continually turning the steaks, this technique keeps the meat moist. The juices keep flowing back towards the center of the meat, as opposed to running out.
For extra flavor, you can add the juices that drained during resting period to the sauce.
This dish looks impressive plated and tastes amazing! The directions were easy to follow and this dish came together quickly. I made this dish with oven roasted potatoes, even simple Italian bread would be nice to soak up any remaining sauce! The wine we had with this meal was a Medoc, which was lovely, although perhaps a chianti would go better with this dish. Would anyone have a wine pairing suggestion for this delicious meal? Thank-you for this yummy, sexy dish!
Julia,
For your wine pairing, as you may have found out, there are a few pairing challenges with this dish. Typically, when I think steak, I think Bordeaux or Napa Cab. With this dish, because of the acidity of the lemon and tomatoes, you'll need a red wine with some acidity and mild tannins. The Chianti you mentioned would be a safe bet but other options would include a Barbera from northern Italy (Classic Pairing), Californian Pinot Noir, or a lighter style Tempranillo from Rioja, Spain. Cheers!
I was wondering what to cook for dinner tonight when I came across this recipe on the website. I had to make a few substitutions, given what I had on my pantry: tri-tip (shaped like a steak), chianti instead of dry-white wine and blue cheese instead of cambozola. Still, it turned out delicious! I can't wait to try the recipe as Tony suggested!
Thanks Rouxbe for all the learning and great eating!
The burst of flavour, did bring tears to my eyes! I've cooked hundreds of steaks, primarily using the BBQ, never dreaming a 'pan fried' steak could deliver. This recipe has converted me (definitely during the winter months). I had my butcher (it's worth getting to know one) cut a NY strip two inches thick & shared it with my wife. I was aware of the importance of bringing the meat to room temperature & pre-salting (ref: Zuni cafe). The results were magnificent. The acidic tomatoes & lemon, tempered the salty cheese & sweet balsamic. All I can say is 'Fabulous'. Thank you Rouxbe, for another recipe added to my repertoire.
My wife and I made the Caprese-Style Steak last night, (12/20). And as a side we added oven baked Yukon Gold potatoes and the Belgian Endive Salad from Dawn T. (see salads) And instead of discarding the chopped shallots used to flavor the dijon dressing for the salad, we put them in the pan to help flavor the New York's we used as our steak choice. I usually like my steaks just salt, pepper, and garlic powder, medium rare, but this is a fantastic way to venture of the plantation! Thanks for the recipe.
Great variation for a pan fried steak. I fixed this with dry aged New Yorks, and it was a huge hit. Normally I will only cook premium steaks on the BBQ seasoned with Hawaiian sea salt and olive oil. Now, I believe I will be getting a lot of requests for a redo of this divine meal.
Also, noticed in the text of the recipe that it said to add 1 tbsp. of the olive oil and 3 tbsp. of the balsamic vinegar. I used 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar and 3 tbsp. of olive oil assuming this is a typo. The list of the ingredients, does have the proper proportions.
Thanks for a great dish and a fantastic site. The best on the web for passionate foodies!
Patrick, I saw your suggestions on the wine pairing and knew I had to make this dish. We've had some Barbera in the wine fridge for a little while and I have been unable to pair it correctly. I made this last night, decanted the Barbera and it all tied together very nicely. Thanks for the suggestion and the great recipe. (I told my husband it was extremely time consuming to make! Is that wrong?) What a great dish, easy to make and wonderful flavors.
It is amazing how badly I messed this dish up and it still tasted wonderful!! (totally over cooked the tomatoes and steak)
But hey, live and learn, right? I know exactly what I did wrong and what to do the next time to get it to come out perfect.
It's also amazing how nasty cambozola tastes to me on it's own, but when melted over the steak in that sauce it was heavenly.
Thanks!
Happy that you had success. I love this easy recipe as well. It's also a great one to practice the flip often method. This works very well with Rib Eye and Beef Tenderloin as well.
Check out the lesson on Cooking Premium Steaks. I think you will find it very helpful.
Cheers, Joe
This was the first recipe I tried after joining RouxBe. I asked for (and received) an AllClad Stainless frypan for Christmas and was eager to try it out. But, the holidays ended, so I went back on WeightWatchers, too.
That's a trying combination. But portion control goes a long way when the flavor is so good!
I had never even heard of cambozola, but it's now on my list of 'special occasion treats'. It takes very little to make a major impact, and the tomatoes are out of this world.
I've made this dish twice, using 8 oz. NY strips, and it's superb.
I didn't know what a 'suk' was before this, but I now have reverence for them.
This tasted absolutely fantastic, but for some reason one of the sides on each piece of steak stayed pink even after resting. I ended up tossing them in the oven for a few minutes just to make sure any surface pathogens were killed. The steak ended up 'well done' rather than my preferred medium rare. I feel like if I would have left the steak in the pan any longer, it would have still ended up overcooked before the sides were fully done. I was a little disappointed since I bought a rather nice cut of steak. This was my first time pan frying steak in stainless steel.
Any idea where I may have gone wrong? Maybe the temperature was too high/low?
When using a thicker cut of meat, the sides may stay pink even after cooking/resting. With thick pieces, near the end of cooking, you can very briefly "sear" the outside by turning the steak on it's side just to get rid of the pink shade. Be careful to not overcook the steak though. This is similar to what we do in the lesson on Pan Frying Fish (Topic 4). With thinner cuts, this isn't usually a problem. Cheers!
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