In summer there’s nothing more decadent than having a plethora of herbs to play with. In the winter, a bunch of oregano costs $2.00 for an anemic bunch of straggly little greens. In the summer, you can purchase a bunch of oregano the size of your head for $1.50.
What’s not to love about that?
Other herbs are just as lush and inexpensive. However, now we’re a few days away from Christmas, and fresh-from-the-garden-herbs are a memory. But I have a very kind mother who gave me a huge bunch of herbs from her garden this summer. I promptly cleaned and froze them, and they sit available whenever I want to brighten up a meal.
They also create the base for one of my favorite very, very, very, fast and satisfying meals.
Which coincidentally would make a lovely Christmas lunch.
Meat with an herb board sauce. This one was steak, but it works really well with pork and chicken.
You can’t go wrong with this dish.
I topped the steak with turnips that had been pickled with baby beets to make them vibrantly pink, and we had one of those meals that still makes you feel like you’re eating like August.
Steak with an Herbed Cutting Board Sauce
Serves 2.
Ingredients:
- 2 chuck steaks
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Olive oil
- ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons chives, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh or frozen oregano, stripped from the stalk
- 2 tablespoons fresh or frozen thyme, stripped from the stalk
Instructions:
Preheat grill to high.
Season the steaks with salt and pepper, and cook on grill for 4 minutes. Turn the steaks 45 degrees and cook for another 4 minutes for medium rare.
Place the herbs on a cutting board and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Place the meat on the herbs and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut the steak on the herbs. Top the steak with the herb oil and meat juices.
Serve and enjoy.
(Photos by Launie K.)
Cutting boards available here.
