Steaks with Romesco Sauce

Not the best of pictures, but at least I grabbed one. This dish surprised me a bit. I'm not big on red meat, in case you hadn't gathered that yet, but I decided to branch out of my comfort zone a bit to try this. The steak preparation itself is pretty simple--you can grill or sear or whatever to however done you like your steaks. The sauce takes a bit more time, primarily because you spend most of it just roasting the vegetables. The sauce was a bit tangier than I expected it to be, but it was a wonderful complement to the steak. Roasted potatoes round out this meal, but feel free to swap them out for something else.

Steaks with Romesco Sauce
Originally found at Blue Apron

2 top Sirloin steaks
3 cloves garlic
1 red bell pepper, seeded and quartered
1 plum tomato, halved lengthwise
2 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 Tbsp sherry vinegar
2 Tbsp pistachios, roughly chopped
3/4 lb fingerling potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
olive oil

Preheat oven to 475F. Place garlic cloves, bell pepper, and tomato on one half of a sheet pan, and potatoes on the other half. Drizzle all with olive oil and sprinkle with half of the smoked paprika. Arrange bell pepper and tomato skin sides down. Roast 22-24 minutes, until browned and softened. Remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly.

Season steaks with remaining paprika, and cook over medium-high heat 2-4 minutes per side (for medium-rare) or to desired doneness. Transfer to a plate and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes.

Once the roasted vegetables have cooled enough to handle, transfer the garlic, bell pepper, and tomato to a cutting board and finely chop. Transfer to a medium bowl, and add pistachios and vinegar. Stir in a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve steaks topped with as much sauce as you'd like, and potatoes as a side.

My Notes:
I had a bit of trouble keeping everything at a good eating temperature. By the time the veggies cooled enough to handle, my steaks were slightly cool, and then adding the room temp vinegar made my sauce fairly cold as well. Keep this in mind when timing everything; I'd recommend waiting to cook your steaks until your vegetables are out of the oven, and keeping them in an enclosed, warm space until ready to eat. The sauce may require some additional heating as well.

All the same, a very interesting dish. Don't know when I'll get around to trying it again, given my lack of desire for red meat, but it is certainly a good enough dish to share.

Enjoy!

Green and Yellow Spaghetti

I know, it's a weird name for spaghetti. But it's far more descriptive than the 'whole grain spaghetti' that this dish was originally named. One of my first meals from Blue Apron, and my first vegetarian meal. It made a lot of food. And it was a nice departure from the typical tomato-based sauces to go with spaghetti. The salty bite of the cheese and the sweetness of the corn make this a wonderful dish, and it's relatively light feeling for a perfect summer meal. Plus, if you actually make it during the summer, you could easily grab most of the ingredients from a local farmer's market. Score!

Note that in the picture, my cherry tomatoes had went bad, so I used a Roma tomato for the tomatoes instead. I'm sure it would be even more delightful with the cherry tomatoes.

Green and Yellow Spaghetti
Originally found at Blue Apron

8 ounces whole grain spaghetti
1 ear of corn, removed from cob
1 shallot, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 ounces cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
1 bunch basil, stems discarded and roughly chopped
2 Tbsp Mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
red pepper flakes, to taste
olive oil

Heat a large pot of salted water to boiling on high. Add pasta to the water and cook 5-7 minutes, until al dente. Drain, reserving 2/3 cup of the pasta cooking water. Meanwhile, in a large pan, heat 2 tsp oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic, shallot, and corn, and cook 2-3 minutes, until slightly softened. Add tomatoes, half the basil, and crushed red pepper. Season with salt and pepper. Cook 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until well combined and the tomatoes have softened slightly. Add the cooked pasta, Mascarpone cheese, and 1/3 cup of reserved pasta water. Cook 1-2 minutes, until pasta is thoroughly coated, adding more water as necessary to reach desired consistency.

Serve, garnishing with remaining basil and Parmesan cheese.

My Notes:
The original recipe called for adding the Parmesan cheese with the Mascarpone cheese, but I found that it ended up clumping together too much, so I recommend garnishing with it instead. Feel free to add more tomatoes if you'd like more in your dish, but overall, I think it worked well. And it makes for great left overs.