Ingredients
For the Crispy Potato Skillet Pie:
2-2 ½ pounds small thin-skinned potatoes
6 cloves crushed garlic
Salt
¼ cup EVOO
3 tablespoons butter
½ small onion, finely chopped or very thinly sliced
3-4 sprigs rosemary
½ cup heavy cream
1 egg
1 cup (2 ounces) Parmigiano-Reggiano
⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
White pepper or fine black pepper
A handful of parsley
For the Bistecca:
2 large porterhouse steaks, 1 ½-2 inches thick
A few sprigs of rosemary
A few large cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and coarse black pepper
Olive oil non-aerosol spray
2 lemons, halved, to char
For the Walnut Salsa Verde:
1 cup packed parsley
¼ cup celery tops/leaves, optional
3 tablespoons drained capers in brine
½ cup toasted walnuts
3-4 anchovy filets
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Juice of 1 lemon
½ cup pitted green Castelvetrano, Cerignola or other buttery green olives
½ cup EVOO
To serve:
Wild arugula
Cracked green olives
Toasted walnut pieces, to scatter
Directions
Serves: 6
For the crispy potato skillet pie, place potatoes and crushed garlic in pot, cover with water by 2 inches, bring to a boil. Salt the water and cook to tender, 12 minutes or so.
Preheat oven to 400°F, rack at center.
Drain potatoes.
Heat EVOO in a medium cast-iron skillet and melt butter into it over medium heat. Add onions and rosemary, stir 2 minutes.
Whisk up cream and egg, half of the cheese and nutmeg and pepper.
Add potatoes to pan and crush with flat edges of spatula or a potato masher. Combine with onions and rosemary. Add cream mixture, combine gently and flatten, then top with remaining cheese and bake 15 to 18 minutes. Cool 10 to 15 minutes, turn upside down onto platter and top with parsley. Or, just serve from pan—equally tasty.
For the bistecca, pat meat dry, cover with rosemary and garlic and let come to room temperature.
Rub meat with crushed garlic and season with rosemary.
Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and oven to 400°F, rack at center.
Add salt and coarse pepper to beef.
Spray pan with a light coating of oil and steak as well.
Cook steak 7 minutes or so on each side and brown edges, transfer to oven 5 minutes for medium-rare. Char a lemon in last minutes of cook time, cut-side down.
While beef cooks, make the salsa.
For the walnut salsa verde, combine ingredients in a food processor and pulse into coarse sauce. Adjust seasonings.
Transfer meat to a cutting board and rest 10 minutes, then cut from bone and slice ¼ inch thick across the strip and the filet.
To serve, arrange meat on large platter and top with charred lemon juice, top with parsley and walnut salsa and garnish the platter with arugula leaves, cracked olives and walnut pieces.
