This gorgeous little treat is a slight adaptation of a Jaime Oliver recipe from his great cookbook,Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook
Arthas, who is always up for a big old slab of red meat, assisted with seasoning and grilling the meat, as well as slicing and washing the leeks. Beyond that, there was hardly anything else to do. The mincing of some fresh herbs, and the dumping of the canned beans into the pan he left to yours truly….he’s a slave driver I tell you!
One of the things I loved best about the dish is that the meat is served sliced, over the leeks and beans, easily allowing us to serve six people with just four steaks. Keeping portions reasonable is always a challenge when working with steaks or chops (at least for us) because everyone always cries for one of their own, and in my opinion, even a modestly sized steak is more than most people should be eating at a whack. Here, three or four nice thick slices of strip steak per person was just the right amount, no one left the table hungry. Jaime does this dish with filet mignons, but we used NY strip steaks. Use whatever you like or have handy, flank, rib-eye or skirt steaks would all be great.
Cheers – Steve
Ingredients
- 4 leeks, washed, trimmed and finely sliced
- a small bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked and finely minced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- olive oil
- a knob of butter
- a wineglass of white wine
- 2 15 ounce cans of cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 10 ounce box of frozen lima beans
- a small handful of freshly picked parsley leaves, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons crème fraîche
- good-quality peppery extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 well-marbled NY strip steaks, preferably free-range or organic, 1½ inches thick
- 1 lemon
Instructions
- Sweat the leeks, thyme and garlic with a splash of olive oil and the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan on a low heat for 20 minutes until they are soft and sweet. Turn up the heat and add the white wine. Let the wine come to the boil, then add the beans and a splash of water, so that the beans are almost covered. Allow to simmer gently for 5 to 10 minutes until the beans are lovely and creamy.
- Add the parsley, crème fraîche and a good glug of the extra virgin olive oil and taste for seasoning.
- Pre-heat your grill to high, season your steaks with salt and pepper. Grill the 1½ inch thick steaks for 3-4 minutes on each side for medium-rare. You can keep them on there for longer, turning as you go, until cooked to your liking. Remove from the grill on to a dish and rest for 5 minutes.
- Squeeze over some lemon juice and drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil. Carve the steaks into thick slices. Divide the creamy beans between your plates and place the steak on top, drizzling over some of the resting juices.