is at home.

Sunday’s are best enjoyed at home with family and friends and it’s a fine to either stretch your culinary wings and cook-up a sumptuous Sunday dinner or shift-down in gears and prepare a home-cooked meal that’s easy, comforting and most satisfying. I chose the latter today  – I chose steak.

Go ahead, take a look in the search window of this blog and you’ll see that it’s been a long time since I’ve posted a steak recipe – that’s because it’s been awhile since I’ve had a steak. Rather than “go big or go home” I went “big and took the big steak home”. My favourite cut is the rib eye steak and if the bone is attach  – even better!

This steak is comes from the rib section of the steer. The front of the cow is the head, then there’s the chuck and next up comes the “sweet spot” of the animal – the rib, where this steak comes from and also a whole Prime Rib Roast. The Prime Ribs are from the 6th to the 12th rib – a naturally tender and delicious cut.

I could have used my gas grill today but for some reason I was feeling nostalgic: wanted to use my cast iron skillet to sear the steak then finish it in the oven. No de-glazing, no cream, no wine  – just a marinade and a little bit of acid (squeeze of lemon juice) and dried Greek oregano to finish the steak. I could have eaten the steak right out of the cast iron pan.

The other component of this dish was the marinade, simple flavours of olive oil, garlic, thyme and rosemary from my garden, cracked whole peppercorns, sweet paprika – all pounded into a paste with the olive wood mortar & pestle I found in Thessaloniki at an antique market this past summer. This mortar & pestle was nicely worked-in, as evidenced by how easy and how quickly the ingredients turned into a paste. The more you use your mortar & pestle the  more it gets worked-in, the easier it is to use and frankly, your food will taste better.

This rib steak is seared on the stovetop (along with an onion) then placed in a pre-heated oven for about 5-6 minutes then simply finished with a squeeze of lemon juice and dried Greek oregano to finish the dish. Allow the dish to rest about 5 minutes before cutting into and don’t waste that sauce in the pan. I would even suggest mopping it up with some good homemade bread.

Best Prime Rib Steak

1 Prime Rib steaks, bone in (about 1 1/2 inches thick)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

3 cloves of garlic

6 sprigs of thyme leaves

1/2 tsp. of rosemary leaves (half if dry)

4-5 whole peppercorns

pinch of sweet paprika

coarse sea salt

1/2 small onion

squeeze of lemon juice

dried Greek oregano

1. Add the cloves of garlic, thyme, rosemary, peppercorns and oil into your mortar and pound with your pestle until a paste. Ad paprika and quickly mix in. Empty in a glass baking dish and place the steak in the marinade and rub it all over the steak. Cover with plastic wrap and place in your fridge for 3-4 hours. Remove from the fridge and allow about 15 minutes to return to room temperature before cooking.
2. Pre-heat your oven to 400F, set middle rack into position. Place your cast iron pan on your stovetop over medium-high heat and add a couple of turns of olive oil. Season both sides of your steak with course sea salt and once the oil is hot, add the steak and onion, sear for 3-4 minutes or until a deep-brown crust has formed. Now flip the steak and place in your pre-heated oven for 5-6 minutes ( as soon as you see the blood on the surface of the steak, it’s medium-rare and I would take the steak out).
3. Carefully take the hot pan out of the oven (with a kitchen cloth) and place on your stove and squeeze with some lemon juice and top with a sprinkle of dried Greek oregano. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before eating.
4. Serve with roast potatoes, your roasted onion, a Caesar salad and pair Alpha Estate Xinomavro Red.

Note: You likely will cook more than one steak so, I recommend searing the steaks one by one in your cast iron pan then transferring to a baking sheet and finishing in the oven.