End summer the right way: not simply with a meal or a barbeque, but with a feast that demands an audience and a celebration of a season’s passing as you all enjoy a butter-basted steak alongside creamy shishito peppers and juicy tomatoes- thanks to this recipe from SeriousEats.
This recipe utilizes tomatoes at the peak of their season to complete the picturesque appearance and plating of the steak that not only rests atop the garden vegetable, but it allows for the tomatoes beneath to heat up and absorb the meaty, aromatic juices that were basting the steak earlier in the cooking process. The butter-basting pan drippings are spiked with a small amount of sherry vinegar to form a savory dressing that is spooned over the entire dish, sending off the summer in a spectacular fashion.
Ingredients
- One large rib-eye steak (min 1½ in thick)
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly-grounded pepper
- One pound mixed ripe tomatoes
- Coarse sea salt (optional)
- Three tablespoons vegetable/canola oil
- Four tablespoons unsalted butter
- One large shallot, peeled, root end trimmed, yet left intact, and quartered lengthwise through root end
- Two medium garlic cloves, peeled
- Six sprigs fresh thyme or rosemary (optional)
- One tablespoon sherry or red wine vinegar
- One teaspoon fish sauce (optional)
- One recipe creamed shishito peppers
Directions
Pat your steak dry and season it liberally on all sides, including the oft-overlooked edged with salt, placing it on a wire rack that’s set in a rimmed baking sheet once finished. Have the steak sit, uncovered, for at least 45 minutes and maximum 3 hours.
Once ready to cook the steak, using a sharpened chef’s knife or serrated knife, cut up the tomatoes into an assortment of slices, wedges, and bite-sized pieces, arranging them in a single layer on a serving plate. Then, sprinkle them lightly with coarse sea salt.
In a cast-iron, 10-or12-inch carbon steel, stainless steel skillet, heat your oil over high heat until it’s just beginning to smoke. At this point, carefully add the steak, ensuring to flip it every 20-30 seconds until a golden-brown crust starts to develop after 4 minutes total.
Next, slide the steak to the back of the skillet, and add butter to the front; once the butter is melted and begun foaming, add shallots, garlic, and thyme sprigs. Hold the skillet with your non-dominant hand and tilt the skillet so that the butter pools near the base of the handle. If the butter begins to smoke excessively or the steak begins to burn, reduce heat to medium. Use a large, metal spoon to continuously baste butter and aromatics over the steak, focusing and concentrating on areas where the crust is less browned. Continue to baste the steak as you flip it every 20-30 seconds, until the steak registers at a heat of 120-125°F for medium-rare (1-2 minutes), or 130°F for medium (2-4 minutes).
Then, immediately transfer the steak to your serving platter and let it rest atop the tomatoes for 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer your aromatics and pan juices to a small bowl and stir in vinegar and fish sauce, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Set this aside afterward, and as the steak rests, warm creamed shishitos in a small saucepan over medium heat until it’s heated through and then transfer it into a serving bowl. Transfer the steak to a cutting board, and while slicing against the grain, cut it into ½-inch0thick pieces, arranging it again atop the tomatoes. Spoon your brown butter-pan dripping dressing over the steak and tomatoes and serve right away, passing the creamed shishitos at the table.
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