ABOUT
Sydney, Australia is a sparkling, modern city with a friendly and casual atmosphere. An appreciation for the outdoors, their local ingredients and sustainability comes through in their food whether it’s the simply prepared-yet carefully handled dishes from farm-to-table restaurants like Biota or very refined, modern dining rooms like Sepia. The ingredients drive the cuisine and after trying fine kangaroo meat for the first time, it reinforced to me how important it is to let the ingredients shine and many times that means just letting it be what it is and cooking it very simply. This inspired me to come home and prepare a simple flank steak with fresh herb chimichurri and a vegetable byaldi.
Serves 4
Note: I always use whole dried spices that we then grind just before use because the flavors are more intense and I can control how course or fine the grind becomes. For the spice mix used to coat the flank steak in this recipe, I measure out the whole spices and then grind them all together in a spice grinder or a small coffee grinder that is dedicated just for spices. If you don’t have a grinder, you can buy the spices pre-ground but you will have to cut their measurements by half.
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400°F
For the byaldi, Place the onions, vegetable oil, and butter in a large pot set over medium-high heat. Sprinkle with salt and cook until the onions start to brown and caramelize. Spread the onions out on the bottom of an 8”x8” or similar sized dish dish in an even layer. Fan out each vegetable in rows alternating zucchini, eggplant, squash, and tomatoes all the way down the dish until the onions are covered with the vegetables. Sprinkle with pepper, salt and thyme leaves then drizzle a bit of olive oil over the top. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Remove from the oven and keep in a warm place.
Make the chimichurri sauce by combining the garlic, shallot, sherry vinegar, lime juice, parsley, mint, oregano, and extra virgin olive oil in a bowl. Mix all the ingredients together and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
For the steak, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in 2 large pans over high heat. Mix the coriander, cumin, and mixed peppercorns together into a spice blend.
Season the flank steak with salt and the spice blend on all sides. Once the oil is almost smoking, add 2 pieces of flank steak to each pan. Reduce the heat to medium and sauté until a nice crust is formed. Flip the meat and sauté on the other side. If you have thick pieces of flank steak or prefer it more cooked than medium rare, it may be put in the oven to finish cooking. Once the steak has a nice sear and is cooked to desired temperature, remove from the pans and to a cutting board to rest for 3-4 minutes.
Slice the meat, against the grain in slices about ¼-inch thick. Plate each sliced portion on a plate, season with a little salt and pepper and drizzle the chimichurri sauce over the steak. Serve the byaldi in the middle of the table, family style.
INGREDIENTS
Byaldi
4 medium yellow onions, peeled, quartered lengthwise and cut into thin slices
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium zucchini, cut 1/8 inch thick
1 large Japanese eggplant, cut 1/8 inch thick
1 medium yellow squash, cut 1/8 inch thick
4 ripe roma tomatoes, sliced 1/8 inch thick
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Chimichurri Sauce
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 large shallot, finely minced
4 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 lime, juiced
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup finely chopped oregano
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup finely chopped mint
¼ cup,finely chopped parsley
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Flank Steak
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons cumin seeds, coarsely ground
4 tablespoons coriander seeds, coarsely ground
4 tablespoons mixed peppercorns, coarsely ground
2 lb. flank steak, cleaned and cut into 4 equal portions
Fine Sea Salt