Summer is upon us. Minnesota? New England? Are you finally with us? Wow, did we feel for you this “spring”!
Now that everyone can relax - or chill, in today’s more hip lexicon - it’s time to pull off some simpler meals so that the time you spend with your food is around the table with friends, not just in the kitchen.
When I buy meats - steaks, racks of lamb, chicken parts, or sausages - they often come in inconvenient quantities. I need four steaks; the package has five. I need eight sausages and have to buy two five-packs. A rack of lamb has eight ribs and we eat only two or three each.
You get the picture. There are always leftover pieces, and I dutifully freeze them.
Then comes the day when you have friends coming over. The weather is stunning, and the last thing you want is to be stuck in the kitchen.
This is the moment when you pull out all those extra pieces of meat for a Mixed Grill.
Most every cuisine has its version of a mixed grill, and I don’t know if there are specific parameters for what constitutes a mixed grill. What I do know is that if I grill some steak, some lamb lollipops, and some sausages, no one is going to complain if I call it a mixed grill. They will be too busy enjoying it.
I served a small production Provence red - a 2016 Domaine Pey Blanc “Instinct” - with a mixed grill the other night. You can read about the pairing in the Provence WineZine.
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| Cool pan, eh? My Arizona Skillet was a gift from wonderful friends! |
The steak for my mixed grill – done in a skillet, rather than on a grill – is based on a recipe from Mozza, the Batali-Silverton restaurant in Los Angeles. I got the recipe from our friends Terry and Marc. I was astonished at the cooking time printed in the original recipe. Twenty-five minutes to cook a rib eye? Insanity! I suggest you follow my timing, or use your own judgment.
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| Extra virgin olive oil from our favorite vineyard in Montalcino: Il Palazzone |
This steak is the perfect addition to any mixed grill, and is wonderful on its own, as well. We serve it with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon - a tradition we learned in Tuscany. A salad of baby arugula is a nice accompaniment.
Roll on Summer!
~ David
Porcini-rubbed Tagliata
Adapted from the recipe from Mozza
2 heaping tablespoons porcini powder (see notes)
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon sea salt
1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
2 boneless rib eye steaks, trimmed
extra virgin olive oil
lemon wedges
Mix the first five ingredients in a spice grinder. Place the spice mix on a large plate. Dredge each steak, pressing the porcini mixture into the flesh on both sides. Reserve any porcini rub that didn’t adhere to the steaks. Wrap the steaks tightly in plastic and refrigerate for 4-8 hours.
Take the steaks out of the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to cooking. Remove the plastic wrap and use the reserved porcini rub to re-coat the steaks. Let them sit and come to room temperature.
Heat a cast iron pan over high. When hot, sprinkle the pan with salt - about 1/2 teaspoon. Season the steaks with additional salt and pepper, then add to the skillet. Cook the steaks for several minutes each side, until done to your liking. I seared them 4 minutes on the first side, and 3 for the second. Allow the steaks to rest for a few minutes after coming out of the pan.
Slice the steaks and serve with some arugula, with olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon over all.
Serves 4.
Notes:
- I do not recommend grilling them over a flame; I found the porcini rub and flavor burn away. Using a cast iron skillet gave me the best caramelization without losing the porcini flavor.
- I purchased my European porcini powder from Far West Fungi in the Ferry Building in San Francisco; you can order from them online or make your own by running porcini mushrooms in a spice grinder.
- For my mixed grill, in addition to the steak, I served a few lamb riblets - (simply seasoned with salt and pepper, then grilled a minute or so each side), German-style Weißwurst (which are fully cooked and needed only a warming on the grill, grilled cherry tomatoes, and some shishito peppers.
- If you are only making one steak, I suggest keeping the remaining porcini rub in a glass jar in the freezer.
Labels: domaine pey blanc instinct, il palazzone, mixed grill, mozza, porcini powder, provence winezine, rib eye
