Foxhollow Farm Ribeye with Sunchoke Purée

My third installment of the Foxhollow Farm monthly recipe series brings us my very favorite steak: the ribeye!  Beautifully marbled, this particular cut of meat sits on the upper section of the cow’s ribs, protected from over use and allowed to remain healthfully fat.  The next time you are at the Foxhollow Farm Store, take a close look at the various cuts of meat.  You will notice that the ribeye has more fat running throughout, whereas a strip steak, for example, is more uniform in color.  Delicious in it’s own right, the strip steak offers a more lean option whereas the ribeye is decadent and absolutely chock-full of flavor.  Couple that with the fact that both cuts of meat come from grass fed cows and you are guaranteed to have a more nutritious and decidedly more delicious steak experience.  Unfamiliar with the concept of grass fed beef?  It seems like an obvious term – I mean all cows eat grass, right?  Yes, by nature cows are herbivores.  In fact, their bodies were designed to eat only grass.  Industrial cattle farms take a different, far less natural approach.  Focused on volume and dollars, the cows may begin on grass – sometimes, not always – however the objective is to fatten them up as quickly as possible.  What does that best?  Corn and grains.  What were cows bodies not designed to eat?  Corn and grains.  Need I say more?  If I’m going to indulge myself in a ribeye steak – or any beef for that matter – I want to know that it was raised the way nature intended.  The fact that grass fed beef is lower in calories and higher in Omega 3’s and Vitamins A and E is another bonus.  One I find hard to ignore!
During my most recent visit to the Farm Store to pick up my grass fed ribeyes, I came across what appeared to be a very large ginger root.  This knobby and awkward veggie turned out to be a sunchoke.  Also known as a Jerusalem artichoke, they are a great seasonal substitute for a potato and are relatively mild, acting as a wonderful base for a variety of flavors and textures.  Visions of a light sunchoke purée topped with thinly-sliced ribeye began to fill my head and I jetted home to begin playing in my foodie-girl kitchen.  The end result is an impressive and fulfilling meal, fit for the finest company.  And guess what?  It could not be easier to prepare!  I hope you enjoy my latest Foxhollow-inspiration and I look forward to seeing you at the Farm Store this December!

As always, a little pre-prep will go a long way and make any cooking experience that much more enjoyable.  That said, we are going to start with our ‘sauce’ for this recipe.  This rich, complex and deeply sweet sauce contains only one ingredient: balsamic vinegar.  A simple reduction, this thickened, enriched version of balsamic adds the perfect acidic note to the meal, complementing both the creamy purée of sunchokes and cutting straight through the fat of the ribeye.  Pour one cup of balsamic vinegar into a small pot and set over medium high flame.  Bring to a boil and drop the heat to medium-low.  Let the balsamic simmer for 35-45 minutes until reduced by three-fourths.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool.  This balsamic reduction will last for several months and is a delicious addition to salads, potatoes, steaks, etc.  You will be thrilled to have it on hand.

While the balsamic is reducing, go ahead and preheat the oven to 400 degrees and take your steak out of the refrigerator so it may come to room temperature while you clean, peel and chop the sunchokes.  You will want to have a pot of water on hand to place the peeled and chopped sunchokes in as they will begin to brown almost instantly once peeled.  There are lots of knobby edges to the sunchoke and it can be a bit challenging to peel every last bit of the skin away.  Don’t fret over it and just get the majority of the skin removed before giving it a quick chop and adding it to the water.

You will need approximately three cups of chopped sunchokes to make enough purée to serve four.  Place a top on the pot and set aside.

It’s time for the main event!  Before cooking, take a moment to appreciate the rich, deep-red color of the grass fed beef.  It is most certainly more appealing to the eye than what you will find from conventional sources.  I believe that one of the secrets to preparing the perfect steak is a healthy dose of salt and pepper.  Sprinkle a nice, even coating of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper over both sides of the ribeye.  Once seared, the salt and pepper will combine to create a wonderfully flavorful crust.  Set a pan over medium-high heat and warm for one minute, adding one tbs of unsalted butter and one tbs of olive oil.  Once the butter has melted and the oil is hot but not smoking, add the steaks and sear on one side for three minutes.  Flip and add one tsp of unsalted butter to the top of each steak.  Move the pan to the oven and cook for seven to eight minutes for medium-rare.  Once cooked, remove to a plate and tent with foil, allowing the meat to rest for 10 minutes while you finish the remaining elements of the meal.

As soon as you place the steak in the oven, drain off the water from the sunchokes, leaving just enough to cover the tops.  Add a tbs of kosher salt to the pot and place over high heat.  Boil for seven to eight minutes until tender, a fork piercing through the center of each piece easily.  Once cooked through, drain off any remaining water and pour the sunchokes into the bowl of a food process or blender.  Add one quarter cup of cream, one tsp honey, one tsp unsalted butter, one quarter tsp kosher salt and one eighth of a tsp of freshly ground black pepper.  Purée until smooth and taste for seasoning.  Add additional salt and pepper as necessary.  Keep the top on the food processor to retain the heat while you finish off the remainder of the dish.

When I first tested this recipe I only worked with the sunchokes and the ribeye.  A fine meal in and of itself, I couldn’t help but feel like something was missing, that the meal wasn’t quite complete.  A heaping pile of wilted spinach and kale did the trick, especially once I spiked the greens with Maggie’s Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, one of my top 10 favorite ingredients and a pantry-must-have in the foodie-girl kitchen.  While the steak is in the oven and the sunchokes are boiling, clean and roughly chop four cups of a mix of fresh, local, spinach and kale (stems removed).

While the meat is out of the oven and resting and the sunchokes have been puréed, place a medium sauté pan on the stove and add one tsp of olive oil.  Warm over medium heat and add one tsp minced garlic and a pinch of Maggie’s Red Pepper Flakes (available at the Foxhollow Farm Store).  Heat for one minute, until fragrant, and then add the spinach and kale, along with a pinch of kosher salt and a few turns of freshly ground black pepper.  Squeeze the juice from one half of a lemon onto the greens and toss, cooking until wilted, three to four minutes.  Remove from the heat and set aside.

Slice the ribeye thinly, against the grain, trying not to steal too many bites of this irresistible steak.  To serve, add three to four spoonfuls of the sunchoke purée down the center of a plate.  Drizzle the balsamic overtop of the purée, moving from side-to-side.  You don’t want to overdo this as the balsamic reduction is quite rich.  Use a deft hand and bring the remaining balsamic to the table for anyone who may want a little extra on the side.  Top the reduction and sunchoke purée with the spinach and kale mixture and then the thinly sliced ribeye.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

Serves Four

For the Steaks

• two Foxhollow Farm grass fed ribeye steaks
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• one tbs unsalted butter
• one tbs olive oil

• one cup balsamic vinegar