Several years ago, my dear friend Sue’s mom, Elvira stopped by our home for a visit. It was one of those sweltering, hot summer days and as we sat on my patio and chatted, we both mentioned how we would not be turning our ovens on to cook dinner that night. Elvira piqued my interest with what she had ‘set up’ earlier that morning.
As soon as tomato season arrives, and it’s too hot to cook, this is what I prepare for dinner. I call it my Tuscan Steak Dinner and I think of my friend Elvira every time. I use her no-cook tomato mixture over pasta to accompany grilled ribeye steaks for a simple Italian rustic dinner.
Elvira’s morning set up:
A large glass bowl works best
Red, yellow and orange cherry tomatoes rinsed, dried and halved. Works just as well with only red Campari tomatoes.
As many pieces of garlic to your liking
EVOO—a decent amount but don’t overdo it. You can always add more later
Sea salt
Set this up in the morning on your kitchen counter. Throughout the day gently mix and turn the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. The tomatoes will slowly break down by dinnertime and you’ll have yourself an aromatic bowl of sweet tomato essence. The colors are simply gorgeous.
While the tomatoes are doing their thing all day, marinate the meat in the fridge.
For the steak:
Ribeye steaks, bone in
Rub EVOO onto both sides of the steaks with some minced garlic, sea salt, pepper and fresh rosemary. A little melted butter just before grilling can only add to the decadence.
The most important step is to take the steaks out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature for about an hour before grilling.
We use a charcoal grill. But of course, you can use a gas grill, cast iron pan on your stovetop or oven.
As soon as the steaks are on the grill, I boil my pasta in briny water.
My family enjoys bucatini, particularly from Garafalo. It can also be called perciatelli, and resembles thick spaghetti with a hole running through the noodle. Back in the day we used to drain our pasta using a colander. No more! Using a spaghetti noodle spoon, transfer the cooked al dente pasta to the tomato mixture, not the other way around. I will also add some of the pasta water a little at a time. Toss in some fresh basil for extra flavor and color.
There’s a lot of rules surrounding wine these days. In my ever so humble opinion, drink what you like. Nebbiolo from Palmina Wines in CA happens to be our wine of choice for this dish. After we give thanks, we toast to Elvira and are reminded of a terrific lady, mom and grandmother with a tremendous zest for life, who was gone entirely too soon. Food has a wonderful way of connecting us to the past and to the people we love.
Now, I want steak! :-D sounds delicious!