“Fee. Ren. Zah.” You say Florence, Italians say Firenza. But no matter. I hope by the time you have finished this piece about my Florentine steak, you’ll be inspired to cook it for a special date. Or two.
For the record – and this is something I will repeat multiple times in this column – if you can read, you can cook. Make no mistake. Armed with some basic terminology, common sense chemistry and a zest for experimenting, you will come up some amazing combinations that will fancy your gustatory predispositions. Just ask my sous-chef.
Florence is in the province of Tuscany, a region well-known for its Mediterranean cooking and for its terra firma meat products. In Tuscany, where herbs and olive oil reign supreme in a region known for its sublime simplicity, food is prepared with as little fuss as possible. Ergo, bistecca fiorentina – the epitome of Tuscan food. This recipe makes great use of three ingredients which you must have in order to be a respectable chef: extra virgin olive oil, kosher/sea salt and fresh-cracked black pepper. This is non-negotiable.
Now, in everyday cooking, yes, fresh ingredients are the caramel sauce, whipped cream and the cherry to your sundae. However, in high-heat cooking, you want to remove as much moisture as possible lest you wish your dismally-small college kitchen to be a smokehouse. So in this recipe, dry herbs are the key, except the rosemary because as a relative to the pine family it is naturally low in moisture. The extra-virgin olive oil, too, is important. Regular olive oil is less pure and has more particulates, thus its smoke point (the temperature at which a solid or liquid emits smoke) is significantly lower than extra-virgin olive oil. For searing and sautéing, however, do not use the best extra-virgin olive oil possible as the heat and other flavors will distort its purity.
A note about moisture and meat: with credit to Alton Brown, it is a myth that searing, or cooking the outside of something at a high heat, locks in moisture. It does, however, produce so much flavor you won’t miss the few water molecules you steamed away in your quest for seared succulence. From my table to yours, Buon Appetito.
Steak FlorentineServes twoPrep time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:2 8 oz. strip steaks, rib-eyes or filets mignon2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves2 tablespoons dried oregano leaves1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, minced1 teaspoon ground sage (1 tablespoon dried sage leaves)1 tablespoon garlic powder1 teaspoon grated lemon zest1 tablespoon OR to taste kosher salt1 tablespoon OR to taste fresh cracked/ground black pepper1 tablespoon butterExtra-virgin olive oil
Directions:• Take the meat out of the refrigerator 20 minutes prior to cooking.• Meanwhile, prepare the rub on a cutting board and place all ingredients in mound after mixing well.• Place the meat on cutting board and coat with olive oil. Rub both sides of the steaks.• In a pan (cast-iron or steel, if you have it, though Teflon will work fine), pour three tablespoons of olive oil (count to three) and put in the tablespoon of butter. Put on high heat and place steaks, one at a time, on the pan only when the butter has finished bubbling and wisps of smoke are emanating from the pan. Once on the pan, do NOT move steaks for two minutes to allow proper searing. Flip, sear for two more minutes, and turn down the heat to medium/medium-high, and cover with a lid for 2-3 minutes. Flip, cover again for 2-3 minutes. This should produce medium-rare to medium steaks. Cook longer if so desired, and serve.
Note: The pan will smoke a lot. Open a window or turn on the hood ventilator if you have one.
Brennan Duty can be reached at [email protected]
