Pearl onions are more of a summer treat, but I love them and I thought they’d go well with this dish. Brussels sprouts are beautiful and iconic around this time of the year and so are golden beets, they are simply delicious and beautiful, they are a little more delicate in flavor than their red counterparts. And who doesn’t love green beans. They can deliver a lot of flavor when cooked right… and that means, when cooked simply in my opinion. Actually, vegetables in general require manipulation to deliver what they have to offer. And when it comes to vegetables, I prefer to cook them quickly, little seasoning, maybe some salt, butter, maybe some vinegar and olive oil. Vegetables are gentle and overcook easily. Treat them with respect and a bit of crunch is always preferable to a mushy texture.
This simple salad is so easy to make and super fun to eat. Takes about an hour to get everything ready if you’re cooking without help. You can roast the beets in advance, but I’d recommend roasting them right before you assemble the dish. Nice and light, this salad is a wonderful offset to the highly caloric diet we all indulge in around this time of the year 🙂 Here’s how to make it!:
Ingredients (serves 2):
12 pearl onions.
12 brussels sprouts.
12 green beans
2 golden beets
1 lb ribeye steak
Some parsley olive oil vinagrete (see below)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Butter as needed… sorry, I don’t measure this, sue me.
For the beets. Cut off the green stalks with a knife, discard. Wrap the beets in tin foil tightly. I didn’t even bother to season them or add olive oil. They really need no help. Place them in a oven at 400F for about 40 minutes. Pierce the pouches with a skewer to feel how tender they are. If tender, remove from the oven and let alone until they are cooler so you can handle them, about 10 minutes. Remove the tin foil, remove the skin with your fingers, it should just peel off. Dice to your liking and set aside.
The pearl onions. Peel them by cutting off the root end, halving them and then with your fingers remove the outer dry peel layer. Add some butter to a non stick skillet on medium low heat. Melt. Place the onions flat face down first. Brown for a few minutes. Then toss around and get a little more browning. They should sort of fall apart in the skillet, don’t worry, it’s not rocket science and exactness isn’t what we’re after here. Once nice with hints of golden browning, remove from the heat. Place on a bowl.
To prepare the Brussels sprouts. Select a few that are nice and vibrantly green. Remove the few greener leaves, about 3 per sprout and reserve them. Cut the sprouts in half and reserve.
To prepare the green beans. Cut them in any shape you prefer. I cut them into 1 inch pieces. Remove the tough stem bit.
To blanch the green beans and brussels sprouts leaves. Ready a pot full of water (add a good pinch or two of salt, the water should be pleasently salty ) over high heat, and bring to a boil. While the water is heating up, prepare an ice bath. A bowl with water and ice, that’s all it is. Once the water is boiling, add the green beans and the brussels sprout leaves. Boil for a couple of minutes. The green color will intensify (I love this part). Fish out a piece of the green beans and taste. They should be a bit crunchy but cooked, and slightly seasoned, but their flavor should prevail. With a slotted spoon or a small strainer, transfer the beans and sprout leaves into the ice water bath. The color will be set and they can be transfer to a bowl until needed for the next step. I leave them in the ice bath. No rush.
To braise the brussels sprouts. Similarly to what was done to the onions. Place some butter on a non stick pan. Melt over medium heat. Place the sprout halves flat face down over the bottom of the pan. Allow to caramelize. This will take about 3-4 minutes. Now, this is my favorite part. Add enough water to the pan to come up half way the height of the sprout halves, yes.. its just a little water. You can add a pinch of salt, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the water until only a glaze is left at the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat. The sprouts should be cooked throughly, and beautifully glazed in their own caramelized butter sauce.
To dress the green beans and brussels sprout leaves. Add a little butter to a pan over medium low heat. Add a little bit of champagne vinegar. A few drops should be enough. Add a pinch of salt. Add the green beans and sprout leaves. Toss about for a bit, until everything is glazed and warm. We’re not cooking them here, just dressing them and warming them up so they can go on the final dish. I add the onions to the pan as well, to heat them up.
To sear the steak. Ok, this steak wasn’t as thick as I would have liked. Cooking thin steaks is tricky. They overcook really easily, and I have to admit, mine overcooked a bit closer to medium and not medium rare which is where I would have liked it. But for a steak salad, this is probably ok (here’s me trying to find an excuse) anyways, aside from the technicalities.. Season the steak with plenty of salt at least 20 minutes before searing, trust me. Heat up some clarified butter or a good high smoke point oil, like vegetable oil or grape seed oil. On high heat, when the oil is shimmering… pat the meat with a paper towel, and add the steak carefully on the pan. It is going to splatter. Don’t worry, that’s just how it goes. Use tongs if you aren’t used to using your hands. Let sear for about 2-3 minutes on one side. Turn over, sear for about 1 minute. Turn off the heat. Let the steak sear for another minute and remove from the pan. Place on a cutting board and allow to rest for 10 minutes. This is crucial unless you want steak blood all over your dish… which is not a bad thing really. I love that stuff, but for presentation purposes I decided to serve a less messy steak.
To make the parsley vinagrete. Simply select some nice and green parsley leaves, about 15-20, place them in a blender. Add about a half a cup of extra virgin oil. I added a bit of Pedro Ximenez vinegar and a little tiny bit of dijon mustard, along with a pinch of kosher salt. Blend for a few minutes, transfer to a squeeze bottle.
When you’re ready to plate. As you by now have noticed. Yes, although a simple dish, to get every component onto the plate warm, takes some logistics and only practice in the kitchen can help that. Warming the plates in the oven prior to serving helps a lot. Something I didn’t do, but I can totally see the benefit of doing . A little planning ahead helps. Have your components ready and warm. Sprinkle them over the plate leaving space in the center of the plate to place the steak. Slice the steak against the grain. Place the steak slices over a bed of golden beet round. Dress with some parley oil. Eat immediately. Seriously. Enjoy!
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44 comments
Beautiful!
thank you Marie!
completely beautiful!
treating vegetables with respect is a very nice way to put it. I think lots of kids grow into veg-hating adults precisely because the people around then never knew how to treat vegetables properly!
thank you so much Sonya. I’m lucky my mom made an effort to have all 3 of us grow eating veggies and loving them as adults 🙂
This is everything I love. Gorgeous photography and perfect cooking techniques too. I have never braised brussels sprouts before and I am going to prepare this way for sure. Nice.
thank you! I so appreciate your nice comment! and so glad you enjoyed the photos too! please, let me know how it goes with those Brussels sprouts ! 🙂
Absolutely stunning photo – I think it could be a hit as a poster!
I love the combination of ingredients. It all look so tasty and fresh.
Thanks for sharing. Your posts are truly inspiring. 🙂
thank you so much Ronit! Im happy you enjoyed this post! you made my day! 🙂
You have just upped the meaning of steak and salad….you dish is beautiful.
🙂 that’s really nice of you to say, thank you so much! really glad you liked it! Hope you’re doing well
Your photography is absolutely A’ma~zing. I am speechless. Your photos are evidence of how beautifully you have prepared the rib-eye steak and the vegetables. Beautiful color coordination. My problem is not that I don’t have your camera, but I don’t have your style/skills. I hope I can learn by watching. Thank you Paul, for such a feast for the eyes.
Aw Fae, that’s too nice, thank you so much! If you want to talk about photography, let me know, I love talking about it and discussing gear, lighting, composition etc. Btw, the zebra cake it’s in the oven and I don’t know how it’s gonna turn up, I had all the ingredients but I don’t have a cake pan… and i didn’t even know that. I’m using dutch oven I got for my birthday… lined it with parchment paper… I expect.. yep, disaster… 🙂 took me like 1 hour to pour the batters into the dutch oven, this is insane. You’re truly patient and perseverant. I almost broke.
I love this – it’s so artistic and I bet it tastes great too… Plus it has Brussels sprouts – my favourites!
thank you! glad you enjoyed this post. You know, I used to not be a fan of brussels sprouts, but I can’t stop eating those things these days 🙂 they are so good! what was I thinking hahahah
Umm. Totally amazing. I would totally eat this right now if I could!!!
thank you Lotis!!!!
This dish sounds delicious with a great mix of flavors, Paul, but the presentation is nothing short of spectacular. Great post.
thank so much John! honestly glad you enjoyed the post and the plating. As you can see, it is really simple. I think what helps, is the colors of those veggies and the red hues in the steak ,they complement each other well I think. I didn’t have to do much to the ingredients which usually works as I’m learning. They look prettier that way most of the time 🙂 I’m still thinking about that seafood menu for the christmas holidays we talked about. Have you heard of waterzooi? I hadn’t until like a week ago 🙂 but thinking I want to try it. Seems straight forward and delicious.
Never heard of it, Paul, and, judging by the spelling, it certainly isn’t Italian or even Greek, for that matter. I’ve a Frutti di Mare dish in mind for the Christmas Eve post but that can wait. I have to get through this week, first. 🙂
Have a great Thanksgiving!
it’s from belgium… i don’t remember how i came across it. Tons of recipes online. but anyways, thanks John, have a great thanksgiving too!!!
Very healthy, definitely going to try and make this myself, thanks for sharing 🙂
thank you! and you’re welcome. If you try this, let me know how it turns out! cheers!!
This looks so delicious. I love the way you did the sprouts as well!
thank you! 🙂
Your food photography is fantastic! I love the bright, crisp colors. 🙂
thank you Patty! that was a really fun one to photograph!
I’ve been scrolling through your posts and am enjoying all your photos! You have such talent when it comes to food styling. That’s one of my weaker areas so I always appreciate learning from others!
thanks Patty, some days are better than others when it comes to styling food, I am by no means (obviously) a professional, but I enjoy doing it 🙂 let me know if you ever wanna talk about it! I just started following, I love how passionate you are about photography and want to see more of it!
I can’t wait to learn more about food styling from you. The way you arrange ingredients on a cutting board seems so effortless. I wish I could do that! It’s hard for me to get it just right. Argh!
it’s kind of straight forward, just think of mise en place.. you want all your ingredients organized before cooking, everything diced and ready. Think of basic compositions rules, like the thirds rule, or not, just frame it in a way that looks interesting, or crop it in a way that looks interesting. Think of colors and contrast. Mainly, think of what looks delicious 🙂 that’s basically what it comes down to, which isn’t easy, but by looking at cookbooks and online photos you can start to see patterns
Thanks, Paul! I wish I had more time to cook and take photos. I always joke that work keeps getting in my way! 🙂
tell me about it, work only gets in the way! I wish I could cook and take photos all day long 🙂
I had an entire week off for Thanksgiving and that’s all I did. It was fabulous! 🙂
me too! I’ve been working on the post, but haven’t finished! It was awesome though, and the food turned out surprisingly good! 🙂
Can’t wait to see it!
🙂 me too! hahahah thanks Patty!
😀
very nice and colorful!
thanks Dennis, and thanks for the follow!
Wow, what a gorgeous recipe and blog!!! Congrats – simply beautiful photography!!! I love your photography!!! I am so glad I came across it through another blog (the seasoned traveler) – looking forward to more inspiration 😉 Sylvia
Sylvia! the fact that this compliment is coming from you is simply humbling. I just took a peak at your blog, I had no choice but to follow you, your cooking philosophy is wonderful, your eye for good looking food and styling is amazing, and reading your “About” section reminded me a bit about how I got into cooking. I love your superfood concept too. And thank you so much for the nice comments and the follow!!!
Wow, thank you so much for all the kind words!! Means really a lot!! ;-))
Thanks and we will be in touch!! Sylvia
Beautiful!
thank you!! 🙂