Rib Eye With Cherry Steak Sauce Recipe

Chef Sam Kass had two jobs when he worked at the White House—cooking for the First Family (including President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle, and their two daughters), and working on food and nutrition policy. You can read about Sam’s food philosophy in his new cookbook Eat a Little Better: Great Flavor, Good Health, Better World. This steak recipe is characteristic of what you’ll find inside because Sam flips the portion paradigm we’re used to, recommending that this juicy ribeye serve four people (alongside veggie-forward sides, of course). “Eat less beef, but when you do, choose the beefiest, most luscious stuff you can find,” he says. And the sweet cherry sauce laced with red wine is complex, less sugary than what you’ll get in a restaurant, and more flavorful, too.

Rib Eye With Cherry Steak Sauce

Yield: 4 servings, and 2 cups sauce
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

For the steak:
1 (1-pound) Thrive Market Ribeye Steak
Sea salt
Thrive Market Organic Ground Pepper
Thrive Market Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil

For the cherry steak sauce:
1 tablespoon Thrive Market Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded, deveined, and chopped
2 garlic cloves, smashed
Sea salt
1 tablespoon Thrive Market Organic Tomato Paste
1 teaspoon Thrive Market Organic Ground Cumin
1 ½ cups fresh or thawed frozen pitted sweet cherries
¼ cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons Thrive Market Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Instructions

Make the steak:
Let steak come to room temperature. Pat dry and generously season with salt and pepper.

On the grill:
Preheat gas or charcoal grill to high heat. Add oil to grill or grill pan. Grill the steak on one side until golden brown and charred in spots, 4 to 6 mins. Flip the steaks and grill, rotating, until they’re cooked the way you like, 4 to 6 mins more for medium rare to medium. Let steak rest 5 to 10 minutes.

In a skillet:
Add a slick of oil to a large heavy ovenproof skillet wide enough to hold both steaks with room to spare, and use a paper towel to rub the oil to coat the surface. Set the skillet over medium-high heat until the oil begins to smoke. Add the steak and cook, rotating it once to keep the color even, until the bottom is deep golden-brown, about 3 minutes. Flip the steak and cook for about 4 minutes for medium rare and 5 to 6 minutes for medium. Let steak rest 5 to 10 minutes.

Make the sauce:
Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Stir in the onion, pepper, garlic, ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cumin and cook, stirring constantly, until softened, about 4 minutes. Stir in the wine, vinegar, and sugar. Transfer the mixture to a blender, and blend until smooth. Return the sauce to the skillet, bring to a simmer over medium heat, and cook until it’s a little looser than ketchup, 2 to 4 minutes. Season with more salt and sugar to taste and serve with the steak.

Reprinted from Eat a Little Better. Copyright © 2018 by Sam Kass. Photographs copyright © 2018 by Aubrie Pick. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.