Tonight's Dinner: Flat Iron Steak...

This was tonight's dinner - an adaptation of an Ina Garten recipe from her latest book Back to Basics. She used hanger steak, which I can't find. I was lucky to come upon some Flat Iron Steak about a month or so ago and bought it at $5.99/lb. I just love this book, as I knew I would. I have all her books. Each one is excellent. I have no idea why I've been reading bad reviews of this one. The critics don't know what they are saying!

I defrosted it, made the butter earlier in the day, and served it with potatoes and peas (my husbands favorite combination with steak).

This was just excellent. We loved it.

I used a salt I found in Nova Scotia that had Herbes de Provence in it. That is what I used instead of the Herbes themselves (which I didn't have). It worked really well.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Bistro Steak w/Provencal Butter

Recipe By     : adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, p. 122
Serving Size : 4    Preparation Time :0:00
Categories    : Main Dishes                      Meat

Amount Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
                        Butter:
   1      lg clove      garlic -- minced
   4                    anchovy fillets -- drained & chopped*
   1      tb            capers -- drained
   1      tb            Penzeys Foxpoint Seasoning -- ** see note
     1/2 ts            dried thyme
   1      ts            grated lemon zest
     1/2 ts            freshly ground black pepper
                        Steak:
   1      large         flat iron steak -- *** see note
   2      tb            extra-virgin olive oil
   4      ts            Herbes de provence salt -- **** see note

For the butter: Place all the ingredients in the food processor and puree. I like to put the garlic and capers in by themselves and pulse them down to tiny pieces and then add the remaining ingredients.

Add the butter after all the other stuff. Process briefly to combine. Place the butter on a piece of wax paper and wrap it around to make a cylinder-shape. Place in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Put the salt and herbs on the steak, 1 tbsp per side, and rub it in. Let it sit for 1/2 hour before cooking. Brush with a bit of the anchovy oil if you have some.

Heat a grill pan over MED-HIGH heat. When hot, add the oil and then the steak. Cook for 4-5 minutes per side. This is a thin cut and cooks quickly. You don't want to over cook it.

Let rest for 5 minutes. Then slice thinly. Remove butter from refrigerator, cut into coins, and place on hot steak. Serve drizzled with meat juices. Serve with potatoes and a vegetable (I had some peas).

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Serving Ideas : v

NOTES : Risa's notes:

* I drained off the oil and reserved it.
** The original recipe calls for 2 tbsp fresh chives, minced. I didn't have any so I used Foxpoint which has chives and other alliums in it.
*** The original recipe calls for hanger steak. I couldn't find hanger steak so I found flat iron, which looked similar.
**** The original calls for herbes de provence, which is a beautiful combination of herbs that are used in Provencal France. It has lavendar, savory and other seasoning. I have a sea salt combination from Nova Scotia that has herbes de provence in it so that is what I used. I used 1 tbsp per side of the meat.

RisaG