The Italian Dish

Grilled Marinated Steak with Salsa Verde Sauce

2012-05-22T06:38:00Z

Are you still buying steaks and just throwing them on the grill? Well, it's time to take your steaks to the next level and marinate them. You won't believe the difference. I get asked a lot what I marinate my steaks in and I'm going to share it with you.

I'm also going to introduce you to a sauce that's used in Italian cooking called salsa verde. It's not like the spicy Mexican version, but is an herb based sharp sauce that is the traditional accompaniment for bollito misto - the Piedmontese dish of boiled meats. I like it very much over grilled steak. It is a raw sauce made with fresh parsley and is simple to whirl up in your food processor. When we had dinner at Perbacco in San Francisco, they brought out breadsticks with salsa verde for dipping and their version was out of this world.

Marcella Hazan has a great little tip about salsa verde that I think is spot on - if the salsa verde is going to be used for beef, you use red wine vinegar in it. If it's going to be used for fish, you use lemon zest. It's a little brighter. I think that's brilliant and that's what I've done in my version.

Grilled Marinated Steak with Salsa Verde Sauce

for a printable recipe click here

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note: the steak is best when allowed to marinate overnight

Ingredients:

1 flank steak, about 1-1/2 to 2 pounds

for the marinade:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/8 cup soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced or 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 cup dry sherry

for the salsa verde:

makes about 1/2 cup

(you can substitute the zest of 1 lemon for the red wine vinegar if using the salsa verde for fish)

1 cup packed flat leaf parsley
2 anchovy filets
2 tablespoon capers packed in salt, rinsed
1 garlic clove
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Instructions:

for the marinade:

Place all ingredients in a gallon size ziplock bag. Add steak and close ziplock, expelling as much air as you can. Refrigerate steak and let it marinate at least overnight.

for the salsa verde:

Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.

Let the steak sit out at room temperature for about a half hour before grilling. Grill the steak until medium rare, about 8 minutes per side, depending on the thickness. Season generously with salt and pepper. Slice and serve with the salsa verde sauce.

From Capri - Lemon Cake

2012-05-08T10:45:00Z

Continuing on with my recipes inspired from our trip to Italy is this lemon cake. While we were on Capri, I had breakfast one morning that was just a simple piece of lemon cake, a fresh orange and a cappuccino. It was just such a perfect breakfast in a place where there were either lemon groves or orange trees everywhere you looked. I bought a nice little ceramic lemon juicer on the island and knew right then and there that I would make a lemon cake for the blog when I got back.

From Rome - Bucatini all' Amatriciana

2012-04-24T10:26:00Z

This is the first in a series of recipes I'm going to be doing for you that are inspired from our recent trip to Italy. This has long been an absolute favorite dish of mine to make, but having it in Italy again was just beyond great. This dish, like Cacio e Pepe, is a very common pasta dish that you will find on so many menus in Rome. It's the best of Italian cooking, in my opinon - it has just a handful of great ingredients, is easy to make but totally gutsy in its flavor.

Italy

2012-04-11T09:51:00Z

Positano
(all photos in this post taken with my iPhone through Camera Plus)

For those of you who follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you know that I just got back from Italy. We spent a few days in Rome and then went to the Campania region of Italy, which included the Island of Capri and the Amalfi Coast. It was really hard to come back, to say the least.

Edible Easter Egg Nests

2012-03-28T10:19:00Z

Aren't these adorable? They are the perfect little thing to put on your Easter table. And they are completely edible. Kids and adults alike will love them. I wanted to post this far enough in advance that you would have time to go out and get the proper ingredients to make them, if you wanted to.

The Best Short Ribs in the World

2012-03-14T04:38:00Z

Yeah, I know. That's a little bold, isn't it? But honestly this dish will have you groaning with gustatory pleasure. I guarantee it. There's a lot of very good short rib recipes out there but this one is special. What's so different about it? The power of reduction.

A typical recipe for short ribs would call for braising the beef in wine, broth and vegetables for a long period of time. And this recipe does just that, but there's an important difference - you start out with a reduction of a whole bottle of red wine and vegetables and then you add that to your beef braise along with more vegetables and beef stock and when that is finished, you remove the meat and reduce the sauce even more. You are left with liquid gold that is so delicious as a sauce you won't believe it.

Thomas Keller is the guy behind this recipe and he uses two interesting techniques here. One is that he fashions a little tool for this dish - a parchment paper lid. Instead of placing a lid on the pot for the long braise, he cuts out a "lid" of parchment paper with a hole in the middle. This allows some evaporation of liquid without allowing too much. It's really a brilliant little idea. I show you how to make one below. The other interesting thing that he does is to place a piece of cheesecloth between the meat and the vegetables, so that the flavor can pass through but the bits of vegetables don't end up clinging to the meat.

Keller calls for "boneless short ribs" for this dish. If you can't find those or can't find a butcher to prepare them for you, you can also just prepare a regular chuck roast using this method. Just slice it into smaller sections. It will be equally over-the-top delicious.

Alinea

2012-02-29T15:38:00Z

I just crossed an item off my bucket list this past week - dinner at Alinea. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time but, even though we've had sons in school in Chicago, just haven't gotten there. This time I made the reservation many weeks in advance and actually got a table. The restaurant is, indeed, amazing. The dishes are completely unique, the service is extraordinary and the space itself is stunning. But the story behind all this is equally compelling.

Vanilla Bean Zabaglione with Berries

2012-02-20T08:24:00Z

There is a reason this dessert is so popular in Italy. You want to lick the glass it's served in, it's so good. I made these for dessert for our Valentine's dinner and my husband ate two.

Zabaglione is a custard made with egg yolks, sugar and Marsala wine. It's traditionally served warm but because I like make-ahead desserts, I'm serving mine cold and folding whipped cream into it to make it lighter. You can add your own touches to this recipe. I added a little orange juice and also served the custard over fresh berries.

For Valentine's Day - Beet Pasta Ravioli with Goat Cheese, Hazelnuts, Chives

2012-02-06T23:35:00Z

If you're like us and avoid restaurants on Valentine's Day, this is the dish for you. This is killer. The beautiful deep magenta color of the pasta just reminded me of Valentine's Day. The filling of goat cheese, Parmigiano cheese and chives is so luscious and creamy. And I thought some toasted chopped hazelnuts on top would add the perfect texture. The filling is a breeze to make and the pasta dough is just plain fun.

Upcoming Pasta Making Class

2012-01-29T14:35:00Z

Pasta Making Class

I will be holding an evening pasta making class on Friday, March 9th at my home. Come join the fun and learn how to make fresh pasta!

Please click on the "Cooking Classes" tab in my navigation bar above for the details.

Space is limited.