Winter blahs call for colour (and tasty nutrition) on the plate, and “lots of water, and stretching”. I’ll add more birdwatching, and more travel to that list, too. Bring on the New Year !
The aroma of supper roasting is also a convenient way to warm the house until the wood stove kicks in. Last night’s supper challenge? To use up a pint of nearly over ripe cherry tomatoes, some slightly tired spinach and a red onion. With a few glasses of 66 Gilead Distillery’s Vodka (with fresh lemon) to toast my safe return from yet another wintery, 2 -1/2 hr drive from TO, I’m hardly complaining. The steak is thinner than I prefer, but it did come from another local supplier, Gilmour’s Meats in Belleville. Less meat, more veg….I get it.
Cooking up a big batch of roasted sweet potatoes now, means leftovers for no-fuss mashing into enriched soups and sauces later.The tomatoes and spinach from dinner were also perfect in this morning’s omelette.
Warm Steak Salad with Onion Petals and Roasted Sweet Potato
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F . Place sweet potatoes in a pan, prick with a fork, and bake for about 1 hour 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, marinate steak with some Dijon, a clove of minced garlic, a dash of fish sauce & Worcestershire sauce, 2 Tbsp olive oil, and some freshly ground black pepper. Leave at room temperature.
Toss the cherry tomatoes in a small roasting pan with olive oil and sea salt. Place in the oven and roast for 45 minutes, stirring once while cooking.
Quarter the red onion without peeling, remove the core but not the root end, and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Roast for 40 minutes, turning halfway and drizzling with some additional vinegar.
Remove tomatoes from oven, and toss lightly with the spinach while hot, deglazing any caramelized edges on the pan with juices from the tomatoes. Set aside and read the mail.
Turn oven up to 450 degrees F. (You should have about 2o minutes left until the sweet potatoes are hissing, softened and fully cooked).
Preheat a cast iron pan over medium high heat, and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Sear the steak, depending on thickness, for about 3 minutes or until well browned. Turn and place in the oven and continue cooking for about 4 – 5 minutes or until desired doneness. Remove the onions from the oven.
When the steak is cooked, do a swap. Place the onions into the skillet with the steak, and remove the steak to the onion pan. Set steak aside to rest, covered with foil (or with the pan containing the roasted tomatoes and spinach, as I did).
Return the onions to the oven for another 5-8 minutes, scraping the browned bits clinging to the pan and adding a little more vinegar if desired, while heating the dinner plates. When the onions are caramelized and thoroughly softened, discard the skins and root ends, and separate into petals.
By now, the house should be toasty warm, and everything ready to eat.
To serve: cut an “X” in a sweet potato and place on a heated dinner plate with some roasted onion petals. Place some tomatoes and spinach in a pile, and top with some slices of steak. Drizzle with the accumulated juices from the steak.
Welcome home, indeed!
photos Ruth Gangbar