Steak with Red Wine Reduction and Lima Beans

Mmm…meat. You all know how much I love it. Yes, there are a million different ways to prepare it, but a simply cooked steak is superb. The complexity is taken up slightly by the reduced red wine. Depending on which grape you choose to use, the sauce can be smokey, spicy, fruity, bold, smooth, or whatever other flavor and characteristics the wine embodies. It’s almost like a choose-your-own-adventure book (remember those?!). This was back when I still had some duck fat in my refrigerator, so I had no other option but to use it to sear the steak. And here the beef is served with lima beans, acting as both a vegetable and a pseudo-starch.

Ingredients:

• steak (I don’t remember the particular cut)
• duck fat (or a neutral oil such as vegetable, corn, canola, etc.)
• salt
• black pepper
• thyme
• red wine
• 1 package frozen lima beans
• 1 Tbsp. butter

Procedure:

1. Season the steak with salt, pepper, and thyme. Sauté in the fat in a skillet over high heat to your desired temperature and remove from pan to rest.
2. Deglaze the pan with red wine and reduce by about half.
3. In a saucepan, cook the lima beans according to the directions on the package. Drain the water, season with salt and pepper, and toss in the butter to melt.
4. Serve the steak with some of the red wine reduction spooned over top and with the lima beans.

I hope you enjoyed the gratuitous food porn as much as I did. You’re welcome.