Naomi Pomeroy's Sesame Beef Farfalle with Crushed Peanuts and Ginger

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the beef:
1 pound grass-fed Flat Iron steak
¾ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon ground pepper (or 10 turns of a pepper mill)
2 teaspoons canola oil

For the pasta:
8 oz. dry farfalle pasta
3 quarts water
3 tablespoons sea salt

For the vegetables:
2 teaspoons organic canola oil
3 ounces yellow onion (½ small onion sliced)
6 button or Crimini mushrooms
3 ounces celery (2 stalks)
1.5 ounces fresh sweet red pepper (½ medium-sized pepper)
10 ounces green cabbage (⅓ of a small green cabbage)
6 ounces broccoli floret (1 small head)
5 ounces carrots (2 medium sized)
4 ounces zucchini (½ medium-sized zucchini)
5 ounces cherry tomatoes (about ½ pint)
1.5 ounces green onion (4 each)

For the sauce:
1 tablespoon organic canola
¾ ounces chopped ginger (about a 2-inch piece)
1.5 ounces Chopped garlic (about 8 medium-large cloves)
3 tablespoons organic peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
2 tablespoons Mirin wine (Japanese cooking wine)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon unseasoned rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons honey
4 tablespoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon Sriracha
1½ teaspoon sesame oil

For the garnish:
2 green onions, finely sliced (on a bias) – green parts only
1½ ounces dry roasted peanuts, chopped
3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
½ lime (cut into 4 squeezers)
Flaked salt, such as "Maldon" or fleur de sel

Prepare the steak:
1. Begin by removing the steak from the butcher paper. (It should look like a square.) Place the meat on a paper towel on a plate and season with salt and pepper, evenly on both sides. Leave out at room temperature as you cook the pasta, prepare the sauce and cut the vegetables, as searing meat from room temperature is much more successful than meat straight out of the refrigerator.

Prepare the pasta:
1. Weigh 4 ounces Dry Barilla plus farfalle pasta, set aside. Heat 3 quarts of water to a boil, add sea salt, sir and add pasta. Set a timer for 9 minutes, and set up a strainer over a sink in preparation for when the pasta is done. When the timer goes off, drain the pasta and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Set cooked pasta aside.

Prepare the sauce:
1. Measure out all the sauce ingredients in small dishes or ramekins (like on a cooking show, so that you can be organized and quickly assemble everything).
2. Heat canola oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. When oil is hot, add chopped garlic and ginger and saute until translucent.
3. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients in order one by one, stirring between each.
4. Add a bit (2-4 tablespoons) of water if the sauce becomes too thick. Set aside.

Prepare the steak:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Pat the steak lightly to dry. Add more salt if needed.

3. Heat a dry cast iron or steel skillet over high heat. When hot, add 1 ½ teaspoon of canola oil, then add the seasoned steak. Press down firmly with tongs, creating as much surface contact with the hot pan as possible.

4. Cook on one side until fully browned, about 1½-2 minutes. Flip the steak and repeat on the second side.

5. When both sides of the steak are browned, brush with about 2 tablespoons of the peanut sesame glaze.

6. Put the entire pan into the 400 degree oven. Set a timer for 6 minutes and check the steak by pressing on it. Like a cake, it should spring back slightly when done (though a bit less than a cake;. you are looking for medium rare on a flat-iron steak). A normally sized 1-pound piece should take about 9 minutes in an oven after being seared. Return the meat to the oven if the middle still feels soft, setting your timer again in one-minute intervals, checking until it's done. The longest would be probably 11 minutes.

7. When the steak is done, pull it from the pan onto a new plate, and rest at room temperature for at least 5-7 minutes before slicing.

Prepare the vegetables:
1. While the steak is cooking in the oven, begin to cook the vegetables. Heati wok on high heat, adding two teaspoons of canola oil.

2. Add vegetables, starting with onions and going down the list, and cook briefly before adding the next.

3. Cook until broccoli and carrots are just tender, but with some "tooth" (al dente).

4. Add cooked pasta, and the balance of the peanut sauce. Stir well, and cook until pasta is reheated, about two minutes.

Finish the dish:
1. Stir in sesame seeds and crushed peanuts into pasta dish at last minute.

2. Divide pasta onto 4 plates, cut steak into four cubes (cross hatch through the center, creating 4 equal "logs." Slice each "log" into 3-4 slices.

3. Garnish each plate with a little green onion. Add some flaked salt to the steak, and serve with a small lime wedge.

Naomi Pomeroy is chef/owner of BEAST restaurant in Portland, Ore.

Nutrition Facts
Per serving:
917 calories
41 g fat
54g protein
86 g carbohydrate

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