FLAT IRON FOR ONE, WITH SCALLION COMPOUND BUTTER AND CREMINI MUSHROOMS

© 2018 by Rob Firing

SERVES 1

I love the efficiency of starting with just a few simple ingredients and using the whole of them. You can make this dish anytime, but it’s even better when you can find true spring onions. I’ve also used ramps (a.k.a. wild leeks) to make the compound butter (pictured here).

There is a satisfying amount of pounding, chopping, and squeezing to this recipe. If you’re disappointed by everything that has happened to you so far today, this will set things straight, and you get leftover compound butter as a bonus, which you can save for pasta, toast, or steak another time.

1 FLAT IRON STEAK (6 TO 8 OUNCES)

1/4 TEASPOON SALT

1 BUNCH OF SPRING ONIONS, SCALLIONS, OR RAMPS

1/2 CUP UNSALTED BUTTER, FRIDGE HARD

1 TABLESPOON OLIVE OIL, FOR FRYING

3 CREMINI MUSHROOMS, SLICED

FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER

SPRINKLE both sides of your flat iron steak with salt. Let sit while you make the compound butter.

USING A SHARP KNIFE, trim your spring onions, cutting off the roots and any wilted or damaged green parts. Cut the white part of the stalks away from the greens, then cut the white stalks in half so you end up with two 1-inch sections of white stalks (about 12 pieces total per bunch); set the whites aside. Chop the greens as finely as you can, then sprinkle with a pinch of salt and continue chopping until almost minced.

RESERVE 2 tablespoons of butter for later. On a cutting board, using your palms or a potato masher, pound the rest of the butter into the chopped spring onion greens. Scrape the butter from the board, folding it and squeezing it with your hands until everything is fully incorporated (you will almost certainly wring some moisture from the butter, and that’s good). Before the butter melts too much in your hands, quickly shape it into a log. Wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate.

IN A HEAVY FRYING PAN over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the reserved butter with olive oil, and heat until the butter stops bubbling. Fry your flat iron steak until it develops a nice crust and reaches medium-rare (approaching 125°F when tested with a meat thermometer, or pinky-red inside when checked with a small incision), flipping it as often as you like and moving it around the pan. Let it rest loosely wrapped in foil while you cook the remaining onions.

ADD prepared white onion to the pan along with the remaining tablespoon of reserved butter, the sliced mushrooms, and a small pinch of salt. Sauté until the onions and mushrooms have softened and started to darken, then remove from heat.

SERVE your flat iron scattered with the sautéed mushrooms and onions, and a generous slice of compound butter on top. Season with ground pepper to taste.