For company
Florentine T-bone with polenta chips and balsamic tomatoes
Thick T-bones from Sloane Meat Market, rubbed with steak and chops spice, carved onto a board with blistered baby vine tomatoes and crisp polenta chips alongside.
From Food & Home Entertaining SA. Carve it at the table on a big wooden board and let everybody pick — this is finger food if you slice it properly.
Method
- 01
Make the polenta first. Bring the stock to the boil, rain in the polenta whisking constantly, and cook for 5 minutes until thick. Beat in the Parmesan, butter and chicken spice, then spread 2cm thick in a lined tray and chill for at least 2 hours until firm.
- 02
Take the steaks out of the fridge an hour before cooking. Pat dry and rub all over with the steak and chops spice, the chicken spice and a little of the oil.
- 03
Heat the oven to 200C. Toss the vine tomatoes with the olive oil, balsamic and honey in a roasting dish and roast for 20–25 minutes until they blister and split but stay on the vine.
- 04
Get a heavy pan or griddle smoking hot. Sear the steaks for 4–5 minutes a side for medium rare, standing them on the fat edge for a minute too. Add the butter, rosemary and garlic in the last minute and baste hard.
- 05
Rest the steaks on a warm board for a full 10 minutes — this is not optional.
- 06
While they rest, cut the set polenta into fat chips and fry in hot oil until deep gold and crisp, about 4 minutes. Drain and salt generously.
- 07
Carve the meat off the bone in thick slices, lay it back around the bone on the board with the roasted vines tumbled over, and put the polenta chips on a separate plate beside it with the pan juices spooned over the meat.
Keep cooking
