1-2/3 cups olive oil
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh winter savory
- or 4 teaspoons dried
1/4 cup chopped fresh thyme plus 8
- sprigs -- or 5 teaspoons
- dried
2 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary -- or 2
- teaspoons dried -- crumbled
2 teaspoons chopped fresh lavender
- flowers -- (optional)
1/4 cup fresh-ground black pepper
3 rib steaks on the bone
- about 1-1/2 inches thick
- -- (about 5 pounds)
1/4 pound butter -- at room temperature
8 nicoise olives -- halved and
- pitted
2 anchovy fillets -- or 1/2
- teaspoon anchovy paste
2-3/4 teaspoons salt
1 lemon -- cut in half
20 baby artichokes -- (about 2-1/2
- pounds)
4 cloves garlic -- chopped
4 bay leaves
2 pounds Yukon gold or baking
- potatoes -- peeled and cut
- into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup water -- more if needed
Instructions:
1. In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of the oil, the parsley, savory,
the chopped fresh thyme or 4 teaspoons dried, the rosemary, the lavender
flowers, if using, and the pepper. Trim off the fat from the edge
of the steaks. Put the steaks in a glass dish or stainless-steel pan
and rub them on both sides with the marinade. Cover and marinate in
the refrigerator overnight. 2. In a food processor, puree the butter
with the olives, anchovies and= 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Cover and
chill. Remove from the refrigerator 1 hour before serving. 3. Squeeze
the juice from the lemon and add it, along with the lemon halves,
to a large bowl filled with cold water. Working with one artichoke
at a time, remove and discard the tough outer leaves, leaving the
pale-green inner ones attached. Using a small knife, trim around the=
bottom of the artichoke below the leaves to get rid of the remaining
bits of the removed leaves. Peel the stem, leaving it about 1 inch
long. Cut off the top third of the leaves. Cut the artichokes lengthwise
into 1/4-inch= slices and put them in the lemon water to prevent darkening.
Repeat with the remaining artichokes. 4. In a large frying pan, heat
1/3 cup of the oil over moderate heat. Add the garlic, the thyme sprigs
or the remaining 1 teaspoon dried thyme, and the bay leaves and cook,
stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the potatoes, 2 teaspoons of the salt,
the wine and water. Cover, reduce the heat to moderately low and simmer
until the potatoes are just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the artichokes
thoroughly and add them, with the remaining 1/3 cup oil, to the potatoes.
Cover, bring back to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until
the artichokes are tender, about 10 minutes longer. If all the liquid
evaporates, add up to 1/4 cup water during cooking. Set aside, covered.
5. Light the grill or heat the grill. Sprinkle the steaks with the
remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. 6. Grill the steaks for 6 minutes. Turn
them and cook to your taste, about 6 minutes longer for medium rare.
7. Transfer the steaks to a carving board and leave to rest in a warm
spot= for about 5 minutes. Reheat the potatoes and artichokes while
the steaks rest. Cut the steaks into thin slices. 8. To serve, put
a mound of the potatoes and artichokes in the center of each plate.
Arrange the steak slices, overlapping, on the vegetables and top with
a spoonful of the room-temperature olive butter. Substituting Large
Artichokes: If you're using large artichokes, cut off the stems. Remove
and discard all but the pale-green inner leaves and cut off the top
third of the leaves. Cut the artichokes into quarters and remove the
fuzzy chokes. Cut each quarter in half from top to bottom. Wine: A
spicy young Rhone red such as Chave's Hermitage or a Chateauneuf-du-Pape
from Beaucastel marries well with the herby charred beef and the olive
butter.
