Hanger Steak with Summer Farro Salad

My Fiancé got the urge to try out a new recipe she came across yesterday and this is the resulting dish. I don't believe I have ever eaten a dish containing farro, so it was a new one for me. Farro is basically the grains of certain wheat species in the whole form. I would compare it closely to barley. It has a nice chewy texture, and absorbs the flavors of the salad well.

Hanger steak is one of my favorite cuts of beef. It isn't super expensive either. I prefer to grill it to medium rare. The only trick with hanger steak is to cut it into thin slices against the grain so it isn't too chewy.

Hanger Steak with Summer Farro Salad

Serves 8

Farro Salad

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 Spanish onion, halved

1 carrot, quartered

1 celery rib, halved

1 ¾ cup farro

5 cups water

3 tbs red wine vinegar

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 small seedless cucumber, halved and thinly sliced

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

¼ cup fresh basil, chopped

Salt and Pepper, to taste

1. In a large saucepan, heat 2 tbs oil. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook over medium heat until softened but not browned. Add the farro and stir to coat with oil. Add the water and bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low heat until the farro is al dente. Drain the farro and remove and discard the onion, carrot, and celery. Let the farro cool completely.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the olive oil with the vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Fold in the cooled farro, red onion, cucumber, and grape tomatoes. Add the chopped basil and mix well. Check to make sure the seasoning is to our liking.

Hanger Steak

1 ½ lbs Hanger steak

1. 20 minutes before you are ready to grill your hanger steak, bring it out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. This will allow you to get a nice char on the outside and reach the perfect medium rare.
2. Heat your grill on high, allow the grill to get to at least 500 degrees.
3. Season both sides of the hanger steak with generous amounts of salt and pepper.
4. Place the hanger steak on the grill and grill each side for about 4 to 5 minutes. You want to get a nice crust on the outside. Check for doness by poking the steak with your finger, you want the steak to be somewhat firm but also have some give.
5. Remove the steak from the grill and let it rest for 10 minutes before you slice it. Slice the steak on a bias against the grain in thin slices.

If you have the time, the night before grilling the hanger steak you can marinade it with whole garlic cloves and olive oil. I threw together a simple herb pesto. I combined a bunch of parsley, a bundle of chives, a cup of basil, red wine vinegar, toasted hazelnuts, crushed red pepper flakes and olive oil in a blender. Season with salt and pepper and blend just long enough to incorporate the ingredients. Don't blend too long or the heat from the blender will turn your pesto brown.

Pork and Apples

A little while ago I cooked my version of pork chops and applesauce at home. In a way I guess you could say it was pork chops and applesauce deconstructed. I purchased twice really nice butterflied Berkshire pork chops at our local grocery store and formed the rest in my head.

Berkshire Pork Chops and Apple Compote

Serves 2

Ingredients

2, 8 ounce butterflied pork chops, bone out

2 Fuji apples, skinned, cored and cut into small dice

1 large Spanish onion, small diced

3 slices of slab bacon, diced

1 large bunch of arugula, cleaned and rough chopped

½ cup apple cider

½ cup dry white wine

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

1. In a heavy bottom pan, render the bacon over medium high heat. When the bacon is crispy add in the onion. Cook over medium heat until the onion become tender and a little caramelized. Next, add in the apple and cook for a few minutes till it softens. Don't overcook the apple; you don't want it to fall apart.
2. Deglaze the pan with the wine, cooking it down till it is almost dry. Next, add in the apple cider, and the apple cider vinegar. Repeat the process and cook until the liquid reduces. Remove from the heat
3. I decided to grill the pork chops; since they were butterflied they cook really fast. Have your grill pre heated on high. Grill the pork chops, getting a nice char on them until they are just cooked. This only took about 3 minutes per side for me.
4. Remove the pork chops from the grill and let them rest for 7 minutes. While the pork chops rest, fold in the arugula into the apple and bacon mixture. When the pork chops are rested, slice them in half.
5. I plated the dish by placing one piece of pork on a plate, I spooned some of the apple mixture on top then placed the other piece of pork on top and repeated the process.