Pan Roasted New York Steak, Sautéed Mushrooms and Spinach Salad with Raspberry-Balsamic Vinaigrette

Pan Roasted New York Steak, Sautéed Mushrooms and Spinach Salad with Raspberry-Balsamic Vinaigrette

Call this a recipe redux. It was almost three years ago that I decided to publish a mushroom side dish but the mushrooms in the picture I used were almost unrecognizable, so I wanted to redeem myself. Since they are intended to be a side dish, I decided to use them in that manner: complementing a protein. In addition, one thing I'd like to do this year is to eat more salads. I discovered last year that they photograph well and they're obviously healthy, so why not?

The Challenge

Redeem my picture by placing it in context while practicing a fundamental cooking technique.

The Source

For the New York steak, I adapted a recipe that is on page 41 of Think Like a Chef by Tom Colicchio (Chef Colicchio uses a sirloin in his example) but the recipe itself is incomplete without his discussion of roasting as a cooking technique that can be found on pages 30 to 36. Interestingly, his principles apply to both pan-roasting and oven-roasting.

For the mushrooms, I've adapted the recipe on page 186 (with a picture of the dish on page 187) of Michael Chiarello's Casual Cooking by Michael Chiarello with Janet Fletcher.

I adapted a salad recipe I found on foodnetwork.com. It uses a store-bought balsamic vinaigrette as an ingredient however when I first read the recipe I thought it said vinegar (not vinaigrette), so I used the vinaigrette I had previously with the other New York steak dish last year.

Ingredients

1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
3/4 teaspoon sugar
8 cups baby spinach
1/3 cup red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup fresh raspberries (I forgot to include them)
1 cup cucumber, sliced
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon plus 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 New York steaks, about 3/4-pound each
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 8-ounce package white button mushrooms, cut in half if large
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup dry white wine

Method

1. Prepare the salad: Combine the balsamic vinaigrette, 1/2 cup fresh raspberries and sugar in a blender. Blend until all ingredients are a homogeneous mixture. In a separate large bowl, combine the spinach, red onion, raspberries and cucumber. Set both aside separately while preparing the steak and mushrooms.

2. Roast the steaks: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Pat the steaks dry with paper towels, then season them with salt and pepper. Once the oil shimmers, put the steaks in the pan and reduce heat slightly. Brown the steaks on the first side, approximately 3 minutes. Turn the steaks, and brown on the second side, an additional 3 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons butter with the thyme sprigs to the pan, then continually baste the steaks with the browning butter until the desired doneness is reached. Remove from pan and set aside to allow for any carryover cooking while the mushrooms are prepared.

3. Sauté the mushrooms: In the same skillet used for the steaks, turn up the heat to high and add the remaining 6 tablespoons olive oil. Once hot, add the mushrooms in a single layer. Without stirring, let the mushrooms caramelize on the bottom, approximately 2 minutes. Then toss the mushrooms and continue to cook over high heat. Remove the mushrooms from the pan using a slotted spoon and discard the oil, then return the mushrooms back to the skillet with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Continue to cook until the mushrooms are browned, approximately 2 minutes. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper and add the garlic. Once the garlic is lightly browned, add the minced thyme and lemon juice and cook until the fluid evaporates. Add the wine and simmer until the mushrooms are glazed with the sauce, reducing heat.

4. Finish the dish: Toss the salad ingredients with the vinaigrette, then garnish with pecans and feta cheese. Place the steak off to one side of a warmed plate, then spoon some mushrooms over the steak and towards the center. Then spoon the salad next to the steak and serve.

Successful?

From a flavor profile standpoint, the sweetness of the vinaigrette contrasted the spinach well with the feta and pecans providing a texture contrast to the rest of the dish. The mushrooms and the steak together weren't very colorful, but they complemented each other well. I was also able to find the picture I took when I first published the dish: