Chef Joel & Jenn: Seared Steaks & Salsa Verde
Back in 2015 when the meal delivery services first started to make a splash on the scene, Jenn got my a subscription to Plated for Valentines Day. We did two rounds of the service (here's one of the recipes), each round with two meals. And although the food was good, the prep time and the cost both really turned us off from continuing. In the last two years, we've gotten more and more into cooking so we decided to try a different service, this time the king of the meal delivery services, Blue Apron.
We received our first delivery on Saturday, June 10th, and received three meals that we cooked on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. The first meal we cooked on Sunday night (mostly because it paired best with red wine) was the Seared Steaks and Salsa Verde. As you might have seen in the video above, the steak that came with this looked quite petite. Normally Jenn and I have one of those size steaks each so before we even started cooking we were a bit nervous.
We had heard that with Blue Apron there was less prep than with Plated, but I'd say it's only a marginal improvement. The nice thing about a service like this is they give you only the ingredients you need, with no waste. The flip side to that is they give you all the ingredients having done none of the prep work. This included cutting the radishes, potatoes, and asparagus, as well as chopping parsley, and garlic, on top of cutting and zesting the lemons. For two novice chefs, this did take much longer than their allotted 15 minutes.
Once we felt the accomplishment of finishing our prep it was time to get cooking. First, the halved potatoes went in the oven. About half way through their cooking we put the steaks on the pan and cooked them over medium-high heat for about 8 minutes (4 per side). Once the steaks were cooked we let them "rest" (something I still don't understand) and cooked the vegetables. Once everything was cooked and Jenn had made the salsa verde we plated it.
The good news is the steaks were cooked beautifully and the dish came together quite eloquently. Although it was a lot of work, there was a level of sophistication that came with this meal that I just don't usually hit with my own cooking. The combination of vegetables, steak, and potatoes made for a really nice dish. I also don't usually slice the steak and plate it, but it turned out really nice. Could we have used more steak? Absolutely. But for our first Blue Apron meal, we came away insanely impressed.
Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 2 Top Sirloin Steaks
- 3 Ounces Radishes
- 1 Pink Lemon
- 1 Bunch of Asparagus
- 1/2 lb of fingerling potatoes
- 1 bunch parsley
- 1 tablespoon of capers
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Wash and dry the fresh produce. Halve the potatoes lengthwise. Cut off and discard the ends of the radishes; quarter lengthwise. Cut off and discard the tough, woody stem ends of the asparagus; cut into 1-inch pieces on an angle, leaving the pointed tips intact. Peel and finely chop the garlic; using the flat side of your knife, smash until it resembles a paste (or use a zester). Quarter and deseed the lemon. Roughly chop the parsley leaves and stems.
- Place the potatoes on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single, even layer, cut side down. Roast 14 to 16 minutes, or until golden brown and tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from the oven and set aside in a warm place.
- While the potatoes roast, pat the steaks dry with paper towels; season with salt and pepper on both sides. In a large pan, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add the seasoned steaks and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare, or until browned and cooked to your desired degree of doneness. Leaving any browned bits (or fond) in the pan, transfer to a cutting board. Loosely cover the cooked steaks with aluminum foil and let rest for at least 5 minutes.
- While the steaks rest, add the radishes to the pan of reserved fond and season with salt and pepper. (If the pan seems dry, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil.) Cook on medium-high, stirring occasionally and scraping up any fond, 1 to 2 minutes, or until slightly softened. Add the asparagus and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 2 to 4 minutes, or until lightly browned and softened. Add up to half the garlic paste and cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until fragrant. Turn off the heat. Stir in the roasted potatoes and the juice of 2 lemon wedges.
- While the vegetables cook, in a medium bowl, combine the parsley, capers, the juice of the remaining lemon wedges, and as much of the remaining garlic paste as you'd like. Slowly whisk in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Find the lines of muscle (or grain) on the rested steaks; thinly slice crosswise against the grain. Divide the finished vegetables and sliced steaks between 2 dishes. Top the steaks with the salsa verde. Enjoy!
