Skirt Steak, Spinach Salad, Brown Butter Cauliflower Glory
This was kind of a spur-of-the-moment meal that turned out to be mind-blowingly fantastic. The nutty creaminess of the Cauliflower Glory [purée] plays nicely with the juicy steak and the crunch onions from the salad. I will make this again. And again. And hope you do too.
It's a 6 out of 10 on the difficulty scale only because you need a pressure cooker and a blender. Don't fret if you don't have a pressure cooker - just chop the cauliflower into very small pieces and steam them with some water. You WILL need a blender to achieve the luxurious creamy texture though. And the more powerful the better. (I love Vitamix.)
Cauliflower Glory
Can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. Keep in the refrigerator until you're ready to complete the dish.
Also, you can scale this up or down based on the amount of cauliflower you have. To scale the recipe up or down, weigh your cauliflower, and then multiply by the percentages of the other ingredients.
For instance, if your head is 800g, then you'd need: 120g butter, 24g water, and 8g salt.
My head was ~700g, so...
- 100% (700g) Cauliflower, roughly chopped
- 15% (105g) Butter
- 3% (21g) Water
- 1% (7g) Salt
Heat a pressure cooker over medium heat. Add butter. And brown it.
Once butter is browned (it should look dark brown and smell very nutty) add the cauliflower, water, and salt and stir.
Seal the pressure cooker and cook on high (1 bar, the second ring) for 20 minutes.
Once the pressure cooker releases it’s pressure, remove the lid. If it looks really watery (use your judgement), heat it, uncovered, until it thickens up.
Blend in a blender until really really puréed. Like 5 minutes on ludicrous speed in a Vitamix.
Spinach "Salad"
- 200g Spinach, washed and dried
- 30g Red Onion, diced
- 10g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
To finish:
Cook steak in frying pan over medium high heat until it's just medium-rare, about 2-3 minutes on each side.
Move steaks to a plate to rest. Add spinach to the pan. Don’t touch it...you want it to brown. Once it smells browned, mix it up a bit so the rest can brown. Once it’s very wilted and browned (5-8 minutes total), remove from heat and add the onion, stirring frequently. You’re just trying to warm the onions, not brown them.
Put a spoonful of Cauliflower Glory in the center of a plate. Run a spoon through it to make a pretty pattern.
Let your inner painter Gogh wild...
Add some of the Spinach Salad, top with a few pistachios and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
You should add double what you see here... I just didn't make enough spinach for two servings.
Slice the steak into 1/2” thick pieces and arrange on top of the Spinach Salad. Sprinkle with a wee bit of finishing salt.
[Yes, there is way too little green stuff to balance this picture. I've adjusted the recipe accordingly.]
MEEEEAAAAATTTT