Pizza, Pizza!

Well as I get back into my daily routine having enjoyed such an incredible Valentine's Day weekend with my honey, I long debated on what dinner would be tonight and decided on doing a Carne alla Pizzaiola.  (I will post about my Austin adventures later). 

What is Carne alla Pizzaiola?  It is basically meat in pizza style.  The dish derives from Neopolitan tradition that features meat cooked with pepper, tomatoes & olive oil.

Here are the ingredients:

1-1/4 lbs boneless sirloin steak, excess fat trimmed
Kosher salt
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, smashed
1 large white onion, sliced about 1/4" thick
1 red bell pepper, sliced about 1/2" thick
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced about 1/2" thick
5 jarred pepperoncini, drained & thinly sliced
1- 15 oz can crushed tomatoes (I prefer Red Gold)
1 heaping tsp Italian Seasoning
1/2 heaping tsp dried Basil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbs chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Preparation:

Sprinkle the steak all over with 1/4 tsp salt.  Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the steak & sear until browned, about 2 min per side.  Transfer to a plate. 

Have I mentioned how much I love my Emeril sauté pan? 

Smashed Garlic Cloves

(lay your knife sideways, blade facing away, & use your palm or fist to smash)

               Don't these colors just pop?

Add the garlic to the skillet; once it sizzles, add the onions & bell peppers & cook.  Stir occasionally until slightly softened, about 4 min.

I cooked the garlic for approx 1 min

Tossed in the veggies

Then add the pepperoncini, crushed tomatoes, Italian Seasoning, basil, (next time I will use fresh basil because it is much fresher tasting), red pepper flakes and about 3/4 cup water; stir to combine.    Bring to a rapid simmer, nestle the steak in the sauce & simmer, turning once until medium rare (about 7 min) or medium (about 10 min) ***I did medium***

Starting to look and smell sooooo good!

Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let rest about 5 min (if you do not let the meat rest and immediately cut into it, you will have a dry steak because the juices ran out of the meat instead of having time to redistribute back into the meat for juiciness & tenderness).

Steaks resting

Continue simmering the sauce until thickened, about 3 more min & remove from heat.  Now, thinly slice the steak against the grain.

That's a beautiful medium

 Toss back into sauce mixture, and you may top with fresh parsley.  

This recipe will serve about 4 people, and here are the nutritional facts;

Calories 318

Fat 12g

Cholesterol 51mg

Sodium 668 mg

Carbs 16g

Fiber 4g

Protein 35g

I think you could serve this dish with buttered noodles, white rice or salad.  I made parmesan angel hair and served with a multigrain baguette for a filling dinner since Chris was just getting home from a long day's work.  

He even said it reminded him of pizza, BINGO!  Mission accomplished.

I decided to make dessert for my sweetie: beautiful, in-season, juicy red strawberries and my homemade whipped cream (I was going to with DiSaronno which I love but opted out this time).

He totally deserves this

Until next time, Happy Eating!