Nigel Slater's midweek dinnerFoodNigel Slater’s sirloin and chard
Steaks with a touch of sweetness
The recipe
Put a large pan of water on to boil. Trim the stalks of 350g of rainbow chard and tear any large leaves into manageable pieces. Dunk the leaves into the boiling water and boil for 2 minutes until the colour is bright and the leaves have softened. Remove the leaves from the water and dip them into a bowl of ice-cold water.
Fry a couple of steaks, about 300g each in weight, in a shallow pan in a little olive oil until brown and crusty on the outside and pink within. Remove them from the pan, place them on warm plates, cover with foil and leave to rest.
Finely slice 2 large cloves of garlic. Melt 30g of butter in the steak pan and fry the garlic until it is pale gold and fragrant, then remove and add it to the steaks.
Add 2 tbsp of vincotto and 1 tbsp of white-wine vinegar to the pan, squeeze the chard leaves dry and add them to the pan as well, turning the leaves over in the dressing. Return the steaks to the pan and toss all the ingredients together before serving. Enough for 2.
The trick
Vincotto is a mellow, sweet sharp liquor made by reducing grape must over several hours. The flavour is not unlike balsamic vinegar, though the texture is thicker. Use it to deglaze the steak juices from the pan, but work quickly as it burns easily. As soon as it starts to bubble, add the squeezed, blanched chard leaves. This will remove much of their coarse and earthy bitterness. The steak will rest happily while you warm the chard, add it just before serving.
The twist
Use balsamic vinegar instead of the vincotto. Try a lamb steak instead of the sirloin. Spinach leaves – the large arrow-leaved variety rather than young, rounded salad leaves – will work in place of the chard.
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