In the Hands of a Chef (41 page)
Read In the Hands of a Chef Online
Authors: Jody Adams
B
istecca alla fiorentina
is a staggeringly simply preparation: top-quality steak dressed with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, grilled quite rare, and garnished with lemon. Traditionally prepared with a T-bone steak, weighing in at a little over a pound, this is a dish for devoted carnivores. I put my version of this dish on the menu when we opened Rialto, using sirloin instead of T-bone and serving it atop a salad of endive, arugula, mushrooms, shavings of Parmesan, and a drizzle of truffle oil. Eight years later, I can’t take it off the menu—it is by far our biggest seller. All you need is a sangiovese wine from Tuscany.
MAKES 4 ENTRÉE SERVINGS
4 sirloin steaks (10 to 12 ounces each), preferably prime
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil for brushing the steaks
1 head endive, separated into leaves (about 12 leaves)
4 cups lightly packed arugula leaves, washed and dried
1 large portabella mushroom cap (about 5 inches across), cleaned and sliced paper-thin
1 lemon, halved
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 ounces Parmesan shavings
4 teaspoons truffle oil (optional)
1.
Prepare a grill with hot and medium cooking areas (see page 265 if you’re unfamiliar with how to do this).
2.
Sprinkle the steaks liberally on both sides with salt and pepper. Brush on each side with vegetable oil.
3.
Set the steaks on the hottest part of the grill. Sear the steaks for 2 minutes, then flip and sear on the other side for 2 minutes. After the initial searing, move the steaks to the medium part of the grill and continue cooking until done, flipping them regularly so they cook evenly. When their temperature registers between 5 and 10 degrees below the desired state of doneness pull them off the grill: Figure on 120°F for rare; 126°F for medium-rare; or 134°F for medium. If you like your steaks rare, begin checking their internal temperature as soon as the initial searing finishes. It’s unlikely they’ll be done, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Steaks and grills are variable, so judge when a steak is done by its look and feel, or internal temperature as indicated by an instant-read
digital thermometer, not by the number of minutes it has cooked. (As a
very general
guideline, for 1½-inch-thick steaks cooked on a charcoal grill, rare steaks should be pulled 2 to 4 minutes after the initial searing; medium-rare steaks will need another 5 to 7 minutes, medium steaks, 8 to 9 minutes. Steaks cooked on a gas grill will take slightly longer.)
4.
Put the steaks on a warm platter, cover loosely with foil, and let them rest for 5 minutes.
5.
Meanwhile, put the endive, arugula, and mushroom slices into a large bowl. Squeeze the juice of one lemon half over the salad. Add the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss well. Taste, then adjust the seasonings if necessary.
6.
Cut the second lemon half into 4 wedges. Distribute the salad among four plates. Set a steak on top of each salad, sprinkle with the shaved Parmesan, drizzle with the truffle oil, if using, and garnish each with a lemon wedge. Serve immediately.
T
hin cuts of meat, poultry, or fish can cook on a hot grill, but the outside of thicker pieces tends to incinerate before the interior is properly cooked. The easiest method of dealing with the problem is to use a grill with two temperature regions—one hot and one medium. A grill is hot when you can hold your hand near the grill surface for no longer than a count of 2 before having to pull it away; it is medium when you can keep your hand near the grilling surface for 4 seconds before you have to move it. After searing a thick steak or piece of chicken over the hot region of the grill, shift it to the cooler area, where it can finish cooking without burning on the outside.
For a gas grill, preheat the grill on high with the cover closed for 15 minutes so everything is nice and hot when you start to cook. After the grill has had time to heat, leave the burners on one part of the grill on high, and lower the heat on the others until you can hold your hand near the grilling surface for 4 seconds.
For a charcoal grill, arrange the hot coals in two zones. The area below what will be the hot part of the grill should be several times as thick as the layer below the medium part of the grill. After arranging the coals but before putting the grate in place, hold your hand over the two regions to make sure you’ve distributed the coals properly. Replace the grate and allow it to heat for 10 minutes before beginning to cook.
Also bear in mind:
A clean grill grate minimizes sticking.
Most home gas grills do not get as hot on “high” as grills using charcoal. Adjust cooking times accordingly. Learn to judge doneness by look and feel or by using an instant-read digital thermometer, not by relying on cooking times.
Grilling with the cover in place shortens cooking time. Refer to your grill’s instructions regarding the vents in your grill’s cover.
Use charwood, if possible, not charcoal, for covered grilling. Most popular brands of charcoal briquettes are compressed sawdust impregnated with flammable chemicals and molded into briquettes. For open grilling, briquettes can be acceptable, but I often detect a chemical element in the flavor of food cooked with briquettes in a covered grill. Charwood, by contrast, is composed of solid chunks of genuine charcoal, that is, whole pieces of wood heated in a low-oxygen environment until they carbonize. Charwood burns hotter (but shorter) than commercial briquettes, without any chemical aroma.
Keep a small spray bottle handy when grilling meats to extinguish fat fires. Alternatively, lower the heat or use the grill cover to help minimize flaming.
F
ebruary is the absolute nadir of the
culinary year in New England. Spring has yet to arrive, and root vegetables have grown too familiar. These veal shanks are my personal antidote to the late-winter blahs. As a genre, braised veal shanks can be fairly heavy going—rich beyond enduring. This is a lighter treatment. None of the ingredients is actually from spring, but the bright fresh flavors of vermouth, pale green flageolets, tarragon, and tangy preserved lemon seem to suggest that lighter days are just around the corner. And there’s always the buttery marrow for the die-hard lover of rich culinary treasures.
MAKES 4 ENTRÉE SERVINGS
½ pound dried flageolet beans (if flageolets are unavailable, use Great Northern white beans), picked over for stones or broken beans and rinsed
¾ pound pearl onions
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
3½ cups Chicken Stock (page 31) or high-quality canned low-sodium chicken broth
4 large meaty veal shanks, about 2 inches thick (about 3½ pounds total)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped into ½-inch dice
1 celery stalk, peeled and chopped into ½-inch dice
1 medium onion, chopped into ½-inch dice
6 garlic cloves, minced
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 cup dry vermouth
5 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
1 cup water
4 plum tomatoes, seeded (see page 55) and coarsely chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh curly parsley
½ Preserved Lemon (page 268; also available in stores that sell Middle Eastern food), pulp and pith removed, the skin cut into thin strips (if preserved lemon is unavailable, substitute the zest of 1 lemon removed with peeler and cut into thin strips)
1.
Soak the flageolets overnight, or put them in a pot, add water to cover by 1 inch, and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and let sit for 1 hour. Drain.
2.
While the flageolets are soaking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Blanch the pearl onions in the boiling water for 10 seconds, then plunge them into the ice water. Drain, then remove their skins with a sharp paring knife.
3.
Heat the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the pearl onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook until they start to brown, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle them
with the sugar. As soon as the sugar melts (watch closely so it doesn’t burn), add
½
cup of the chicken stock and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 10 minutes, then add another
½
cup chicken stock and continue cooking until the onions are tender and golden and the stock has reduced to a glaze, 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside.
4.
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
5.
Season the veal shanks all over with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a large braising pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the shanks on both sides until browned, about 5 to 7 minutes per side. Transfer the shanks to a platter.
6.
Lower the heat to medium and add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Give the oil a minute to heat, then add the carrot, celery, and diced onion, season with salt and pepper, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until it becomes aromatic, just a minute or two. Cover the shanks with a piece of aluminum foil, pressing it down into the pan, then cover with a lid, and braise for 1 hour.
8.
Remove the veal from the pan. Add the flageolets, 3 tablespoons of the tarragon, the water, and 1 cup chicken stock to the pan. Return the shanks (opposite sides down) to the pan, setting them on top of the beans, cover again with foil and the lid, and braise for another hour. The meat should be meltingly tender.
9.
Remove the veal shanks from the pan; set aside. Add 1½ cups chicken stock, the pearl onions, tomatoes, and 1 tablespoon of the tarragon to the pan. Cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until the flageolets are tender and creamy. If there seems to be too much liquid, reduce the juices over medium heat until they thicken. Return the shanks to the pan and heat through.
10.
Right before serving, add the parsley and the remaining 1 tablespoon tarragon to the beans, and season with salt and pepper. Place a veal shank and generous helping of flageolets on each of four plates. Sprinkle strips of the preserved lemon (or fresh lemon zest) over each shank and serve.