Pan-Seared Steak with Gravy and Beef & Pea Risotto

This was my absolute first time attempting to cook risotto and it turned out…decently. For one thing, I used regular long-grain rice, instead of the usual short- or medium-grain rice such as the standard aborrio. Secondly, I decided to use beef broth since I figured I was making it to go with steak, so I thought, “Bring on the beef!” (This is to say that I’m not sure if I will venture into the world of beef risotto in the near future as it didn’t fit my mind’s tongue of what risotto should taste like.) And the straw that broke the camel’s back – I tried making it from memories of seeing it produced on various cooking shows. Afterward, I looked up a recipe online and found that I left out one of the beginning steps (coating the rice in some sort of fat, i.e. butter or oil). Let’s just say I’ll chalk this one up to experience, but it still tasted fine in the end.

Ingredients:

• any steak of your choosing
• montreal steak seasoning
• worsterschire sauce (don’t ask me to pronounce it…please)
• canola oil
• beef broth
• flour
• butter
• 1 mug of rice
• 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
• salt
• 1/2 bag of frozen peas

Season the steak with the montral steak seasoning (I bet you couldn’t have guessed that!) and fry in the canola oil. For the gravy, add a pat of butter to the pan that you cooked the steak in along with about a tbsp of flour to make your roux. (I just realized the other day what I’ve been using the wrong roux in previous posts. Roux is the thickening agent for gravies, etc. versus rue as in regret. The more you know…and shooting star…) Allow the raw flour taste to cook out for a minute and then add about a cup or so of beef broth and a dash of worserschire sauce. Taste check for seasonings and then you’re good to go.

The basic technique for making risotto is to slowly add some sort of hot liquid to a pot of rice until the rice becomes tender. Then add in some grated parmesan cheese and serve. I also added a couple of tablespoons of butter and during the cooking process and folded in some frozen peas at the end to let them warm through.