Tuscan Porterhouse Bistecca Alla Fiorentina

Chef Umberto Menghi from Vancouver’s legendary Giardino restaurant shares his recipe for Bistecca Alla Fiorentina

Ingredients

• One 34 oz porterhouse steak, cut 1½ to 2 inches (4 to 5 cm) thick
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 4 tbsp (60 mL) Domenica Fiore Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 4 cloves garlic, halved
• 1 branch rosemary
• 1 lemon
• Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
• 1 tsp (5 mL) extra virgin olive oil for garnish

Instructions

Trim the meat of all the fat around the outside. Season both sides of the steak with salt and pepper, and coat both sides with some of the oil. Pour the remaining oil into a dish. Add half the garlic and place the steak on top of it. Sprinkle the remaining garlic over the steak and lay the rosemary branch on top. Cover the steak and refrigerate it for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, remove the meat from the fridge and let it stand for 1 more hour at room temperature.

Preheat the broiler or barbecue to very hot. Before you cook the steak, remove all of the garlic and rosemary, otherwise they will burn and add bitterness to the dish. Leave the oil in the dish and keep the rosemary branch to use as a brush for the oil.

Grill or broil the first side about 10 minutes, until is nice and crispy. Then turn the steak over and grill for about 3 minutes, or until it is cooked to your preference. Using the rosemary branch, brush the garlicky oil on the cooked side so it won’t dry out.

When the steak is done, remove it from the grill and put it back in the dish with the remaining oil. Let it rest for 3 to 4 minutes, keeping it warm.

Just before serving, squeeze the juice of ½ lemon over the steak. Separate the meat from the bones and cut it on the diagonal into ½ to ¾ inch (1 to 2 cm] slices.

To serve, stand the bone up in the middle of the serving platter and surround it with beef slices. Squeeze on the juice of the other half lemon, sprinkle with parsley and drizzle the extra virgin olive oil over top.

If desired, add a side of fresh arugula, drizzled with more Domenica Fiore Extra Virgin Olive Oil and enjoy!

Enjoy!