So this dish here (and wine) is what started this blog.
Menu:
Grilled Churrasco Steaks with peppercorn sauce
Roasted organic carrots
Yellow potato onion gratínee with grana padano, nutmeg, paprika cream sauce.
Paired: 2016 Coppola Cabernet Sauvignon
Don’t worry! It is quite an easy meal to prepare. Scroll down for recipe (serves 4)...let’s get cooking!
(Photo: Carlos Sarmiento)
Ingredients
2 lbs of skirt steak or flap steak
4-6 carrots, cut lengthwise (1/4 inch thick)
1 1-2 cups of sliced (1/4 inch rounds) of baby yellow potatoes (skin on)
2 medium yellow onions (sliced thinly/julienned)
1 cup of heavy cream
3/4 cups of grated grana padano or parmigiano- reggiano cheese
1/2 stick of salted butter
1/2 cup extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 tablespoons of Sea salt
4 tablespoons Cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons of paprika
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
Note: Peppercorn sauce is optional. I actually bought an exceptional store bought sauce from https://wildforkfoods.com/ (saved me a LOT of time). This sauce is already made and just needs a quick heating before serving.
Directions
Pre heat oven to 350 F.
Season steaks with salt and pepper (both side). Drizzle lightly with olive oil (very light coating), set aside and marinade while you prepare the other dishes.
In an oven proof dish or shallow pyrex, place the carrots evenly and salt/pepper lightly. Drizzle approx two to three tablespoons of olive oil. Optional: you can throw some herbs like a few sprigs of fresh thyme or rosemary. Set aside.
In a oven proof deep dish or Pyrex pan, lightly coat the bottom with olive oil. Arrange the potato rounds (slightly overlapping each other). Salt and pepper to desired amount. Dust paprika evenly on top. Cover potatoes with julienned onions. Dot pereces off butter through the entire top of the pan. Pour the heavy cream evenly (it should cover all or most of the pan). Add grated cheese evenly, coating all of the pan. Add one more dusting of cracked pepper.
Once oven reaches 350, place potato pan in middle of oven (mid rack) and bake for approx. 30-35 minutes (or until top is forms a crust).
While the potatoes are cooking, set a timer for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes pass, place the carrots in the oven and cook them for the duration of the cooking time for the potatoes.
While the potatoes are cooking, fire up your grill (if you have a charcoal grill, make sure you fire it up ahead of time, even before you‘re prepping the ingredients). I personally use gas grills so it cooks much faster.
Grill the steak for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, until done to the degree of doneness you prefer. Let the skirt steaks rest for 5 minutes before slicing to serve.
Note: If you don’t have a grill, you can cook the steaks in a cast iron pan: oil up your pan and sear steaks on high temperature for just a few minutes per side, add some fresh garlic (2-3 whole cloves) , thyme or rosemary sprigs, and 3 tablespoons of butter. Spoon the melted butter on top of all steaks and place pan in the oven and cook until desired doneness.
Serve it up!
So by now your steaks are done (and sliced), your kitchen smells amazing and you’re ready to serve and eat!
Arrange each plate with a few slices of steak (or whole piece of steak if you prefer), garnish wish a few carrots on top of steak. Add potatoes next to steak (try to keep the baked crust intact when serving).
Dot the plate with some of the peppercorn sauce and serve it up!
Wine pairing
As you can see, I paired my meal with a 2016 Francis Coppola Winery Diamond Collection - Ivory Label Cabernet Sauvigon https://www.francisfordcoppolawinery.com/en/our-wines/diamond-collection/cabernet-sauvignon
(you can find this wine at most grocery stores, Target, Costco, BJs $13-16)
For this type of meal, you definitely want a robust red wine like a Cabernet Sauvignon, a French Bordeaux, an Argentinean Malbec or a Chilean Carmenere.
Since I live in sunny (and hot) Miami, Florida, I always chill my red wines for a few hours before serving it.
Bon appetit!
Voila! Enjoy! Let me know what you think! If you have suggestions and tips, please share them.