These autumn days, the sun is so bright during daytime hours we almost forget that we very well may be bundled into sweaters and blankets by nightfall.
In this recipe, I grab onto the last of summer’s cooling rays with a handful of cherries, combined with the hearty goodness of a sirloin steak and the autumn season’s new olive oil. The bitterness of the wild herbs juxtaposed with the sweet raspberry vinegar offers a contrast as strong as a season in transition, while the earthy mushrooms recall the inebriating aroma of dampened soil, a sure-fire sign of a life outdoors, surrounded by a bountiful harvest.
RECIPE
Beef, mushrooms, wild herbs, black cherries
Serves 4
Ph. Luca Rosati
Ingredients
4 pieces of sirloin steak, 200 g each / 150 g porcini mushrooms / 2 garlic cloves / sage, salt, pepper, as needed / extra-virgin olive oil / raspberry vinegar / white wine / 200-300 g bitter wild herbs (chicory, burdock, dandelion, nettle, borage, rocket, valerian) / 8 syrup-preserved cherries
Method
Wash the mushrooms and cut them into cubes. Heat the olive oil, garlic and sage over a fire. When the garlic starts to caramelize, add the mushrooms and sear them. Soften with some white wine, letting the liquid evaporate. Add salt and pepper to your liking. Add water or vegetable broth and continue to cook the mushrooms.
When thoroughly cooked, blend the mushrooms in a blender until you obtain a smooth cream. Add broth or water if necessary. Let cool and place in the fridge.
Wash the wild herbs. Before serving them, season with oil, salt and raspberry vinegar.
Heat a non-stick pan over a fire until it becomes very hot. When you start to see smoke, add the beef steaks to the pan and cook until a “crust” forms; turn them over and sprinkle with salt. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until medium-rare.
Scallop the steaks and dry with blotting paper or a paper towel. On the plate, add a layer of the mushroom cream, place the steak over it and top with the wild herbs. Drop two sliced cherries on each plate and sprinkle with new olive oil for added depth.
Wine pairing / Helen Farrell
Bindi Sergardi’s Calidonia Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2012 is a prelude to cooler nights, plush like the red velvet curtain during theatre season. The complex fruity and floral aromas provide the ultimate supporting role for the mushrooms and meat in this recipe.
