The quality of the steak is the quality of the whole dish in something as simple as this classic Florentine carnivore's fantasy. I had never realized this dish was the true pinnacle of Tuscan cooking until I got there and tasted it—simple, sublime, and all about the shopping, not the cook. Da Vero is my favorite olive oil, with all of the peppery palate ticklers and olfactory love juice of any great Tuscan oil, yet it is created by my good friends Colleen McGlynn and Ridgely Evers in the Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma, California.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 T-bone steak, at least 3 inches thick, 3 to 3½ pounds
- 2 tablespoons pure olive oil
- ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil, preferably Da Vero
- 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 4 pounds baby spinach, stems removed, washed, and spun dry
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon coarse salt
Preparations
- 1. Preheat the grill.
- 2. In a small bowl, mix together the rosemary, sage, thyme, salt and pepper until well blended. Pat the steak dry and coat the entire steak with the herb mix. Brush gently with the pure olive oil. Place on the grill and cook until well charred, about 12 minutes on first side, then cook about 9 minutes on the second side; this is traditionally served rare. Transfer to a platter and let stand for 8 minutes.
- 3. Meanwhile, in a 10- to 12-inch sauté pan, heat ¼ cup of the extra-virgin olive oil over high heat until smoking. Add the garlic and cook just until light brown. Add the spinach and stir until just wilted. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- 4. Carve the fillet and the strip steak from the bone and slice. Divide the steak among four plates, arrange the spinach next to it, and drizzle with the remaining ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil. Season with coarse salt. Serve immediately.
Makes 4 servings
© 2005 Mario Batali from Molto Italiano
Photograph © Beatriz Da Costa
