Celebration Dinner #1: Spice-Rubbed Steak with Roasted Poblano Topping
Every Christmas season when David and I decide it’s time to break out the decorations, I plan a festive meal to end our day (or days) of decking the house and tree. This one has been a popular celebration dinner for us: it has been known to appear on an anniversary or Valentine’s table. We don’t eat steak very often, so when we do, I like to make it special.
This recipe developed from one I found in Paula Lambert’s The Cheese Lover’s Cookbook. Hers is for a whole beef tenderloin, so I’ve had to do some tinkering with the proportions to get it to come out right for just the two of us. The cut of meat you use depends on your taste and your pocketbook. Filets would of course be best, but they cut into my grocery budget pretty severely. The butcher at our local grocer cuts these little pieces called finger steaks; they are the best steak for the money that I’ve found here, and the portion is just right for us. The recipe is flexible, though; you can substitute whatever cut tastes good to you, you just might have to adjust the cooking time.
The sauce for these steaks is made from roasted poblano peppers, roasted garlic, and mascarpone cheese. The cheese base gives the sauce the perfect melting consistency; you place a dollop on top of the warm steak, and by the time you get the fork to your mouth, it’s melted into a wonderfully smooth texture. I love the spice medley of the dish also; the chile powder, seasoning salt, and cumin has become a regular combination in much of my cooking.
I served the steak with my favorite sweet potatoes and a simple salad of arugula, shaved Parmesan, lemon juice, and olive oil. The potatoes can cook while you prepare the steaks and sauce, and the salad comes together while the steak is cooking. Not complicated, but it tastes like you spent all day in the kitchen!
Spice-Rubbed Steak with Roasted Poblano Topping
4 individual steaks, about 6 ounces each
Chile powder
Cumin
Seasoning salt
Olive oil
1 poblano pepper
4 cloves garlic
4 ounces mascarpone cheese
1/2 t. seasoning salt
1 t. cumin
1 t. chile powder
Juice of half a lemon
Preheat the broiler. In a shallow glass baking dish, coat the steaks with olive oil, rubbing it into the meat with your fingers. Season each side of the steaks liberally with cumin, chile powder, and seasoning salt. The exterior should be coated with the spices. Place in the refrigerator to soak up the spices. Meanwhile, roast the poblano under the broiler, turning with tongs until it’s blackened and bubbly on all sides. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to cool and steam. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees. When the oven has sufficiently cooled, place the garlic cloves, skin-on, in a small foil packet. Drizzle with olive oil and Kosher salt. Roast for about 20 minutes. When cool, squeeze the garlic from its skin into a small bowl and mash with the back of a spoon. Add the mascarpone, 1/2 t. seasoning salt, 1 t. cumin, 1 t. chile powder, and lemon juice. Peel and chop the poblano; add half of it to the sauce. Stir to combine. Add the steaks to the 350-degree oven, cooking until done to your liking, turning halfway through. The cooking time will completely depend on the size of your steaks and on your preference about doneness; mine took about 8 minutes per side. To serve, spoon a dollop of the mascarpone sauce on top of each steak.