Flat Iron Steak

It's been a long, long time since beef has made an appearance on our table. We're talking somewhere in the neighborhood of ten years. We both came to the relationship on a very little beef sort of diet, and together we just avoided it altogether. We would eat it periodically if it popped up on a chef's choice menu or if someone served it, but we hadn't personally prepared in ages.

Tonight all that changed. The reason for the change is several-fold, but part of it is certainly that we've found a source of meat that we're really comfortable with. We've been buying meat, mostly pork and goat (yes, goat), from Thundering Hooves for about a year. This week, we decided to take the plunge into beef and bought a flat iron steak. Then I spent three days looking for recipes for flank steak, because my brain apparently disconnected and I forgot what I had bought. This morning, I finally realized that I had flat iron steak and found a recipe for Flat Iron Steak with Red Wine Sauce. I would absolutely make this again.

I served this with roasted purple potatoes, which are absolutely one of my favorite ways to have potatoes. They're so simple and yet so good; the outside is crisp and pleasantly crackly and the inside is soft and comforting. And the asparagus! Don't forget the asparagus with sauteed onions and prosciutto.

This was a happy dinner.

Flat Iron Steak with Red Wine Sauce, from here, adapted slightly to tweak proportions.
Serves 4
2 medium flat iron steaks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 T cup tomato paste
3/4 cups red wine

Turn the grill to medium-high and give it a few minutes to heat up. Salt and pepper the steaks and drizzle with the 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Grill about 7 minutes per side for medium. Transfer the steaks to a cutting board. Tent with foil and let stand 10 minutes.

In a saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt. Add the garlic and oregano and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in the wine. Simmer until the sauce reduces by half, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into small 1/2-inch chunks and whisk in the sauce a little at a time. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Thinly slice the steaks across the grain. Divide the steak slices among 4 plates. Drizzle the sauce over the steak and serve.