No Vegetarians: Tri Tip and Anchovy Broccolinis for 1

Growing up, my Father used to prepare the same meal almost every night; pan fried round steak, boiled potatoes with margarine and mixed frozen vegetables. That meat was tough and grayish and I thought that’s what steak was, and I liked it. It took me years to figure out how to get that crusty brown outside and rare or medium rare on the inside. You don’t even need an expensive cut, I used tri tip for this recipe. Admittedly, tri tip isn’t the most tender cut cooked this way, but the point here is cooking for one on the (mostly) cheap, without driving yourself insane with too much time and effort. This steak was four-something dollars for two steaks, each big enough for a single serving. I had steak for dinner and lunch the next day, and both times it was better than something I could have bought already prepared.

I really like using this method for cooking meats, it pretty much works for any steak, pork chop or firm fish filet, such as salmon, halibut or swordfish. The only trick is timing the roasting, properly adjusting for thickness of the cut you have. Very thin cuts won’t need roasting at all. Thick cuts, like the inch thick steaks I used here required about 12 minutes in a 375 degree oven after searing.

Both of these recipes have two steps, but only two pans for the entire menu, so the cleanup effort evens out.

Steak with Blue Cheese and Spicy Broccolinis

Spicy Broccolinis

1 small bunch broccolinis, or regular ol’ broccoli

1 small clove garlic

2 tsp anchovy paste, or to taste

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 lemon for squeezing

Olive oil, salt, pepper

Tri tip

Steak

Olive oil, salt, pepper

A few crumbles of blue cheese

Implements

Sauce pan

Colander

Oven proof skillet

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put on an oven proof skillet to heat to medium high. While the pan heats, fill a sauce pan with water and set to boil.

Season the steak of both sides with salt and pepper, for this step I remove the plastic from the packaging, or un-wrap the paper and season right there in the packaging. No need to wash that cutting board more than once if you ask me.

Swirl around a bit of oil in your hot skillet. It should smoke a bit. Immediately add your steak and sear until it reaches a deep brown crust, about 2 minutes a side. Pop those babies in the oven so they gently cook through. About 12 minutes an inch for beef.

Meat in dual tones.

While the meat is in the oven, assemble your ingredients for the broccolinis.

We are broccolinis if you please, we are broccolinis if you don't please. (To be sung, guess the tune? too rando? Sorry.)

Chop your garlic clove and give the vegetables a rinse and trim. Bring your sauce pan with water to a boil and blanch the broccoilinis until bright green and not cooked through. Keep an eye on them, this only takes a minute or so. Drain.

Hey, is that meat done? Take it out of the oven and place it on a plate to rest. Put the same skillet back on the stove top to use again for the vegetables, heat to medium/medium low. Don’t wash it! Those brown bits are yummy! See also: lazy.

Swirl in a bit more olive oil, add the garlic and move it around until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the blanched broccolinis, red pepper flakes, anchovy paste and salt and pepper. Mix until heated through and all incorporated. Remove from the heat and give them a squeeze of lemon juice.