French Onion Rib-Eye Steak

French Onion Rib-Eye Steak

Photograph by James Carrier

SERVES 4
TIME About 25 minutes

Ingredients
1/2 tsp. each kosher or coarse salt, cracked pepper, dried onion flakes, and dried garlic flakes
1 fat-trimmed beef rib-eye steak
?(cut 2 in. thick, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lbs.)
1 tsp. olive oil
French Onions (recipe follows)
1/2 cup shredded gruyère cheese
1/2 cup beef broth

Directions 1. Preheat oven to 400°. Pat salt, pepper, onion flakes and garlic flakes onto steak.

2. Pour oil into an ovenproof nonstick frying pan over high heat. Add steak and brown on both sides, about 4 minutes total. With tongs, tip steak onto its edge and rotate to brown lightly, about 2 minutes total. As fat accumulates in pan, wipe out with paper towels.

3. Put pan with steak in oven and bake until meat is done to your taste (cut to test), 8 to 12 minutes for rare, about 25 minutes for well done.

4. Remove pan and wipe out fat with a paper towel. Mound French onions onto steak and sprinkle with cheese. Broil about 6 in. from heat until cheese is beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove pan from oven and pour broth around meat, stirring to release browned bits.

5. Transfer steak to a platter and pour juices around it. To serve, cut meat into 4 portions.

PER SERVING 302 cal., 51% (153 cal.) from fat; 33 g protein; 17 g fat (7.4 g sat.); 0.6 g carbo (0.1 g fiber); 329 mg sodium; 99 mg chol.

French Onions

Thinly slice 1 medium onion. In a large frying pan, combine onion, 2 tbsp. butter, and 1 tsp. sugar. Stir often over medium-high heat until onion is lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Add 1 1/2 tsp. all-purpose flour and mix well. Remove pan from heat; stir in 1/4 cup milk and 1/2 cup beef broth. Stir over high heat until liquid is almost evaporated and mixture doesn’t flow when scraped from pan bottom, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add 1/2 cup shredded gruyère cheese and 2 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese; stir until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Use hot. Makes 1 cup.

PER SERVING 162 cal., 67% (108 cal.) from fat; 72 g protein; 12 g fat (7 g sat.); 7.5 g carbo (0.9 g fiber); 171 mg sodium; 35 mg chol.

Serve with Hopscotch Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 (Sonoma County)