The Big Ragu

Ya know these little ads you see on the side of MSN.com or CNN or something for "recipe of the week" or "low calorie 30 minute meals!" ?  Maybe you don't.  I generally don't notice them either.  However,  today... something with Marcus Samuelsson's face referred to flank steak and ragu.   Marcus Samuelsson, ya know, Aquavit.  Celeb chef.  Yeah he's badass.   He's generally more on the Swedish/Scandinavian cuisine, so I don't know why he's pushing steak n potatoes, but ...

I saw him in New York once, at a Japanese restaurant where I was dining post-dinner-shift with two chef friends of mine.   He was sitting at a table with 5 or 6 supermodel types, a little toasted on aquavit(?) or sake or something, but we were all having fun and I'm pretty sure there are pictures/evidence of this floating around somewhere in the universe.  Anyway, I owe tonight's home cooked plate of awesomeness to him.
It was a very simple recipe.   Trader Joe's didn't have any flank steak though, so I opted for a nice, small NY strip.

Started with dicing about 2 cups of potatoes.  This was an exercise in knife skills - me dicing potatoes, trying my best to keep them equal in size.  Respectable job, but slower than a seasoned chef.  All things in due time, friends.  
Anyway - sauteed the buhdaydas for about 4 minutes w/ a little oil, salt, pepper.  Introduced a sliced red onion.  Let that cook down a bit.  Added a small can of diced tomatoes and a can of chick peas.  More salt pepper.   Let it cook down to a stewy ragu.   While this is cooking. . . marinated the steak in oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and chopped rosemary (ohhhhh yessss).   Heated up a pan nice and hot and seared that sucker!!  Nice char on both sides, even seared the big fat-strip on the side for added flaaavor.  Smell this:  Searing NY strip steak, garlic, rosemary, right next to a stewing pan of potatoes, onions, chick peas and tomatoes (and a little garlic in there too).   Friggin ree-diggaluss.

So simple.  So quick - even though I took my time.   Sooooo good.   Very much in part cuz I cooked that steak PERFECT medium rare (pics not showing the true reddish pink), and I let it rest for a good 6 or 7 minutes before slicing it, so them juices stayed put in the meat.   I don't sear steaks that often, so getting this right the first time was part gut, part luck.   But I'm telling ya, if I can cook a six dollar steak this precisely well with no practice - no one should ever accept a $30 steak from a steakhouse that is not cooked exactly how you want it.  Send that sh*t back if they can't do it right - at a steakhouse, that's ALL they do, there is zero tolerance for poor execution.
Well, another Monday - another very fine, very affordable home cooked meal for one.  And a good portion of the ragu leftover for tomorrow.   Thanks again Marcus.