Seared Steak with Miso Butter Mash and Mushrooms

Serves 2

Seared Steak with Miso Butter Mash and Mushrooms

Is there anything better than a perfectly seared steak? We don’t think so. If budget allows, try and buy the best steak you can get your hands on, especially if it’s an occasional treat. Your reward: the beefiest, most tender, succulent and juicy steak imaginable. Here’s how to nail the cook.

INGREDIENTS

2x 300g thick-cut rib-eye steaks
400g button or Swiss brown mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
80ml vegetable oil
watercress sprigs, to serve

Miso butter mash
1 garlic bulb
olive oil, for drizzling
400g potatoes (about 2 medium-large), peeled
50g butter
1 tbsp white miso
2 tbsp pouring cream

METHOD

About 45 minutes before you want to cook your steak, pat it dry using paper towel, then season well with salt. Preheat the oven to 200˚C.

For the miso butter mash, cut the garlic bulb in half widthways. Place each half on a square of foil large enough to enclose, drizzle lightly with olive oil, then wrap tightly. Bake for 30 minutes or until the garlic is soft and golden. Cool slightly, then squeeze out the garlic from one of the halves; reserve the other half for another use.

Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into 4cm chunks, then cook in a small saucepan of boiling salted water for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain well, then add the roasted garlic, butter, miso and cream. Mash until smooth, season with salt and pepper, and keep warm.

While the potatoes cook, let’s cook the mushrooms using the wet-fry method. Combine the mushrooms in a wok with 125g (½ cup) water, then bring to the boil over high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes or until all the liquid has evaporated. Add the olive oil, reduce the heat to medium-high, then cook the mushrooms for 5 minutes, tossing the wok often, or until golden. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.

To cook the steaks, first pat them dry using paper towel. Lightly season again with salt. Heat your steak pan over medium-high heat, then add the vegetable oil. Once the oil is hot, carefully add the steaks. Cook for 1 minute, then turn and cook on the other side for another minute. Continue in this way, cooking and turning each minute, for a total of 6-8 minutes, or until the centre of the steaks are 60°C on a meat thermometer (for medium rare). Remove the steaks from the pan and rest for 5 minutes. Serve with the miso butter mash, mushrooms and sprigs of watercress.

Top tips

1. The leftover roasted garlic will keep for a few days in the fridge and will be delicious in a salad dressing… or in another batch of mash.

2. The steaks need to be dry when they go into the pan so they don’t stew. Having them at room temperature helps them cook faster and evenly, while the advance salting helps improve the flavour and overall texture.

3. You may need to cook your steaks for slightly longer or even a little bit less than the suggested time, deepening on how thick they are and how you like your steak cooked. A digital thermometer takes all the guesswork out of judging when they are ready. Note that they will continue to cook more as they rest, so keep this in mind too when judging when to take them off the heat.