Derek’s newfound love interest in the kitchen…this cookbook…has been making posting about the meals quite simple in that he actually follows the recipe rather than creating a beautiful meld of several recipes and techniques found online. I think that the style of the recipes also fits in nicely with my preferred style of cuisine – taking quality ingredients and treating them with respect, bringing out the naturally exquisite flavors. Of course my other style of cuisine is a mishmash of vegetables and whatever is in my refrigerator…so that seems slightly contradictory – but then again it could just be the difference in wanting to take time and create a masterpiece and wanting to use up ingredients and create something easy and comforting – for my tastebuds at least.
This meal – one prepared by Derek certainly falls in the simple and perfect category. After all, the steak was a simple filet prepared with three ingredients – salt, pepper, canola oil. That’s it!! Seems like anyone could make it perfect, right? The key, though, is in the preparation. Simple, perfect, preparation.
Ad Hoc Peppercorn Filet Mignon
1/2 cup black peppercorns
Canola oil
6 8oz beef tenderloin steaks 1 and 1/2 inches thick
Kosher salt
Put peppercorns in a small saucepan and cover with 2 cups of canola oil. Bring oil to a simmer over medium high heat. Remove from heat and let peppercorns steep for 1 hour.
Drain peppercorns and crush with a mortar and pestle. Spread crushed peppers on work surface. Coat both sides of steaks and let sit for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350.
Heat oil in cast iron pan over medium high heat. Season steaks with kosher salt. Add steaks to pan and sear for 4 minutes. Turn steaks and sear other side for 4 more minutes.
Transfer steaks to oven and cook for about 18 minutes for medium rare and 24 minutes for medium well. Remove from oven and let rest before serving.
Not wanting a ton of steak – I picked out the smallest one that the meat guy had – probably about 5 oz…maybe even 4.5 oz. It wasn’t large. But let me tell you…the flavor that came out of that little guy…wow. It was so much more satisfying than a 12 oz ribeye that you order at a restaurant. It was rich and tender and so evenly cooked – that was what surprised me the most. Oftentimes when you have a steak, you cut into the middle to see how it is done…because obviously the ends are more well done than you care. I wish I had taken a picture of the inside of my steak (would have been much better than the blurry image above…that was Derek’s steak). The end was as perfectly medium to medium rare as the middle was. And you could cut it with a butter knife (or so I assume…I didn’t try). The amount of pepper that Derek put on seemed very generous prior to cooking…we both expected a good hit of spicy black pepper when we took a bite. Instead the black pepper flavor was infuse into the steak but the spice and “kick” was gone! It was miraculous. And heavenly…and with a Frank Family Cabernet, for a moment in time I was elevated to a level of divinity.
And though I would have been thoroughly happy and satisfied with just my little steak in the middle of a big plate…savoring each morsel for dinner – I was even more fortunate to have an incredible side dish/salad – also coming from Ad Hoc – and actually the initial inspiration for the meal. While flipping through Ad Hoc contemplating what we should have for dinner, a picture of broccolini and mushrooms with some fresh burrata cheese caught my eye. I’m a sucker for burrata. I figured that the vegetables were boiled and/or sautéed…as were the mushrooms…so when I bit into what Derek delivered as the side dish, I was surprised – it really was a broccolini salad! Served cold! How fantastic!!! The mushrooms – not even cooked! The broccolini, briefly blanched to bring out the beautiful natural green – but still crisp to the tooth. Wow.
Broccolini and Bufala Mozzarella Salad
1 pound broccolini, thick ends removed and remaining stems peeled slightly, as in photo above
3 large cremini mushrooms, stemmed and cleaned
1/2 cup black Cerignola olives (it’s pretty important to get this particular kind because they are milder than most other olives. Whole Foods carries them on the olive bar.)
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper
Burrata cheese (the smallest round you can find, but you will definitely have leftovers)
Extra virgin olive oil
Sherry vinaigrette (see recipe below)
instructions
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously before adding broccolini. While water is coming to a boil, prepare a large bowl of ice water. When water boils, add the broccolini and blanch until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Submerge broccolini in bowl of ice water to stop the cooking, then drain and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Cut the mushroom caps into paper-thin slices. I used a sharp paring knife, but the book suggests that a Japanese mandoline also works well. Place in a small bowl.
3. Cut all 4 sides of each olive away from the pit in flat slices. Lay the slices flat-side-down and cut into thin slices, as seen in photo above.
4. Lay the broccolini in a single layer on a plate and drizzle with about 2 Tbsp. vinaigrette (see recipe below). Toss with your hands to coat. Sprinkle with additional salt or pepper if desired. Add 1 Tbsp. vinaigrette to the bowl with the mushrooms, and toss to coat, adding a bit more if needed. Move broccolini to serving platter and top with marinated mushrooms, then sliced olives.
5. Place the burrata in a small serving bowl. Using kitchen shears, cut a small X in the top of the burrata to expose the creamy center. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with pepper. Add the bowl of burrata to the serving platter. Serve salad with tongs and a spoon for the burrata. Each person can top their own serving with the burrata.
Sherry vinaigrette
Whisk together 2 Tbsp. sherry vinegar and 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar in a small bowl. Stream in about 1/2 cup olive oil (the dressing will still look slightly broken – do not emulsify completely), and season with salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in more olive oil if dressing is too tart.
Unfortunately the cheese shop did not have burrata. Sure, I was a little bit sad, but we substituted it with Bufala Mozzarella which we were told is essentially the same as Burrata but without the creamy center. It was still fantastic. The key to the salad is making the mushrooms and red onion so thin that they blend into the salad rather than stand out in their raw state. I could have had this alone for dinner…with a piece of good bread…but clearly I was happy with my steak and would have fought someone if they tried to take it away from me after I had taken my first bite.
What I loved about the broccolini was that it brought the thought of salad to a different light. Cooked a little bit longer it would be considered more of a side dish, but as the broccolini was barely cooked…and the rest of the ingredients were raw…it truly was a salad!
You know sometimes when you have a really good meal you just get kind of giddy (or am I alone here…)? This was one of those meals…and I cannot wait to try out some more delicious discoveries from Chef Derek-Thomas Keller.
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