Bistecca alla Pizzaiola
1 cup vegetable oil
Four 16-ounce rib-eye steaks, trimmed of all fat
3 bell peppers, cored, seeded and cut, lengthwise, into 1/2-inch slices
2 large white onions, sliced
4 cups sliced white mushrooms
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups dry white wine
4 cups hand-crushed canned, imported San Marzano Italian plum tomatoes
2 pinches fried oregano
2 pinches crushed black pepper
Salt to taste
Heat 1/2 cup oil in each of 2 large sauté pans over medium-high heat. Add two steaks to each pan and fry on one side for 4 minutes or until very brown. Turn and add half of the peppers, onions, mushrooms and garlic to each pan. Fry for an additional 4 minutes.
Drain off excess oil and remove steaks from the pans, leaving the vegetables. Return pans to medium-high heat.
Add 1 cup of wine to each pan and bring to a boil. Into each pan stir 2 cups tomatoes, a pinch each of oregano and black pepper, and salt. Return to a boil. Lower heat and allow sauce to cook for about 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. (If sauce is too thick, thin with a bit of chicken broth, using no more than 1/4 cup.)
Return steak to sauce and allow to cook for 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Cut meat from around the bone and slice steak, on the slight diagonal, discarding the bone. Place steak on a serving platter, pour sauce over the top, and serve.
Serves 6.
Rao’s Cookbook: Over One Hundred Years of Italian Home Cooking , by Frank Pellegrino
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