easter dinner for two: skillet steak with vegetables, golden potato cake, and romaine lettuce salad

An intimate dinner for two was adapted from recipes from Bon Appetit. The strip loin steak is pan-fried until medium-rare and served on a bed of spring vegetables: green peas and asparagus. A light mustard sauce is drizzled over the steaks, said to be spicy, but I would turn that up a notch or two. Of course, you must have steak with potatoes, and this golden potato cake is a giant hash brown, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Rounding out the meal is a fresh romaine lettuce salad with crunchy sugar snap peas and salted buttery almonds sprinkled on top.

Skillet Steak with Peas and Asparagus, with Spicy Mustard-Miso Sauce

1 pound boneless strip loin steak (NY strip steak if available)

Seasoning salt

5 large garlic cloves, 1 grated, 4 thinly sliced

1/3 cup Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

2-4 pinches pepper flakes, or to taste

1 teaspoon miso

1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2/3 cup of scallions, thinly sliced, divided

10 oz of frozen green peas

2 cups fresh asparagus, trimmed, and cut into 1-inch pieces

Boil a large pot of salted water. Cook the peas 4-5 minutes in boiling water until they are crisp-tender. Remove with a spider and put in a bowl of cool water with ice cubes in it. This will set the colour and stop the cooking. Set aside. Bring the water to the boil again. Add the asparagus and cook until they turn bright green and are crisp-tender, 1-4 minutes depending on how thick they are. Remove with a spider and put in a bowl of cool water with ice cubes in it. Set aside. Save the water for the sugar snap peas for the salad.

Pat steaks dry. Season both sides with 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk grated garlic, 1/3 cup mustard, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1 teaspoon honey, pepper flakes to taste, 1/3-cup oil, 1 teaspoon miso, and 1 tablespoon water. Taste and add salt, black pepper, miso, and more pepper flakes, if desired. Set aside.

Heat a dry 12-inch skillet (cast iron or non-stick) over medium-high heat. Rub each steak with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, and cook on each side for 6 minutes (for strip loin) 10 minutes (for NY steak), turning every 2 minutes, to make sure the fat caps brown. On an instant read thermometer, when the temperature is 118˚-120˚F remove the steaks to a plate and tent them loosely with foil. The steaks will continue to cook. Set aside. Don’t clean out the browned bits in the pan.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in the pan on low heat. Add sliced garlic cloves and all but 2 tablespoons of the scallions. Save the two tablespoons for serving. Cook, stirring often, until softened and fragrant, 1-3 minutes.

Add peas and a splash of water. Heat the peas through, 1-2 minutes, then add the asparagus, and heat them through, stirring constantly, for another minute or two. Season with seasoning salt. Remove from heat.

Slice the steaks and shingle over the vegetables in the skillet. Drizzle some mustard sauce over the steak and top with reserved scallions. Serve with remaining mustard sauce.

Golden Potato Cake

6 tablespoons clarified butter or ghee (use 8 tablespoons unsalted butter)

550g potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced on a mandoline

Seasoning salt

Heat oven to 400˚F/200˚C.

To make clarified butter, heat the unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Skim off the white foam on the surface. The butter will melt and the solids will settle on the bottom. Spoon the clear liquid butter into a small bowl and discard the solids.

Heat 1 tablespoon clarified butter in a 10-inch oven proof nonstick skillet with a lid. Set aside the lid. Add half the potatoes and toss the potatoes in the butter until they are coated. Turn often until potatoes begin to brown around the edges, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Add another tablespoon of ghee to the pan and fry the remaining potatoes. Transfer to the same bowl. Cool 10-15 minutes or until cool enough to handle.

In the bottom of the skillet, arrange the potatoes in an overlapping circular pattern. Season with seasoning salt and drizzle 1 tablespoon clarified butter all over. Continue layering and seasoning potatoes, and drizzling with butter. Cover skillet.

Cook potatoes over low heat until just tender, 8-10 minutes. Uncover skillet and transfer to oven. If the skillet has a silicone handle cover be sure to remove it. Bake until the potatoes are tender in the middle, and brown and crisp, 20-25 minutes. Using oven mitts, remove the skillet from the oven. Cool slightly.

Slide a spatula beneath the potato cake to loosen it. Cover the top with a large plate and flip the cake onto the plate. Season with more salt.

Romaine Lettuce Salad with Honey-Almond-Miso Dressing

1 cup slivered almonds, divided

1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed

3 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon miso

1/2 teaspoon honey

Fresh ground black pepper

Milk

1 1/2 cups sugar snap peas, strings removed

1 1/2 cups romaine lettuce hearts, chopped into 1 1/2-inch pieces

Place the oven rack in the upper third of the oven. Heat to 350˚F/175˚C Cook the sugar snap peas in the reserved water until bright green, 1 minute. Drain and transfer to a bowl of ice water. Let cool. Drain and slice each pea in half, diagonally. Set aside.

Melt 1/2 tablespoon butter. Toss with 1/4 cup almonds and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Spread on one side of a rimmed baking sheet. Spread the remaining almonds on the other side of the baking sheet. Bake 5-8 minutes for the salted almonds; 10-12 minutes for the dry almonds. When the almonds turn a light golden brown, remove them from the oven. Cool. Set aside the salted almonds for serving.

Make almond nut butter. Process the dry almonds in a food processor, scraping down the sides occasionally, until smooth and forms a ball. It will look like crumbled peanut butter. Scrape out into a small bowl. To flavor the dressing, add lemon/lime juice, oil, honey, miso, salt and pepper. Add milk to reach desired pourable consistency. Taste and adjust honey, miso, salt, and pepper. Set aside the dressing.

Assemble the salad. Add the lettuce leaves and peas and toss to combine. If desired, toss with dressing or serve dressing on the side. Top with salted roasted almonds.

mashed potatoes with callaloo

This is a variation on Irish mashed potatoes and cabbage called Colcannon. I used Jamaican callaloo, or amaranth, instead, but you can use spinach or napa cabbage. These potatoes are a bit chunky and has a smooth onion-garlic flavour. 

2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
6 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 large red onion, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
2 cups callaloo leaves, chopped, (aka amaranth; can use spinach instead)
2 cups milk (whole or low fat)
Salt and pepper to taste
Scallion, chopped, for garnish (optional)

Boil potatoes in their skins until tender, 30-40 minutes, or until a paring knife cuts through one of the potatoes easily. Rinse and set aside to cool.

When cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes and set aside.

Heat 4 tablespoons butter in a large skillet. Cook onions until softened, 8-10 minutes, over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add half of the callaloo and cook until wilted. Add the milk and cook until the milk is bubbly. Add the rest of the callaloo and cook until wilted. Add the peeled potatoes and coarsely mash in the skillet. Continue to cook, stirring, until heated through. Salt and pepper to taste. Scrape into a serving bowl. If desired, add 2 tablespoons butter to the top of the potatoes and sprinkle over the scallions.