Inspired by my recent dining experience at Lucques, I decided to revisit Suzanne Goin’s recipe for Grilled Skirt Steak & Artichoke-Potato Hash with Olive Aioli. My prior attempt at this beef hash was less than stellar, not the least of which was the use of artichokes in oil and a tapenade instead of aioli. Given more time, this should be simple, right? Well, this attempt involved fresh artichokes, which are now in season. Unfortunately, the stores (yes, plural) that I visited had huge artichokes, not the baby versions called for. My basic approach was: get 2 big ones instead of 6 baby ones. An artichoke splinter and a hacked “fuzzy choke” later, I decided frozen artichokes would do!
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| Sauteed Artichokes |
My next challenge was making the aioli. The first time I tried this with only an hour to make the hash, I simply punted and bought a black olive tepanade. This time, I wanted to faithfully create the aioli so I dutifully bought grapeseed oil, measured it out, separated the yoke and put it in the stainless steel bowl. Suzanne’s recipe says to add the oil “drop by drop, as slowly as you can bear.” Because I’m not Shiva with 4 arms, I thought I could cleverly hold the bowl and add the oil with the same hand while whisking with the other. Unfortunately, my motor skills caused me to immediately splash a tablespoon or more into the bowl all at once and I never got the oil to emulsify. I would have been better off dredging the Gulf of Mexico! (Breathe, Clark, breathe.) With the manual whisk route sabotaged, I put the mixture into the Cuisinart, reasoning that it’s whirling dervishness would create aioli par excellence…um, no. It was merely oily liquid that reminded me of a salad dressing without the vinegar. But, necessity is the mother of invention and creme fraiche was the stand-in base and actually worked well and saved time. Wish I had seen this video on aioli!
At this point, the previously baked potatoes were ready to be crisped and browned. I have to say that simply crumbling the potatoes was liberating. Normally, my German heritage and observation of my Dad making stuffing drive me to precise hashing and uniform cubes of potatoes, which cook up faster than baked whole spuds.
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| Yukon Gold Potatoes Crumbled and Crisping in the Pan |
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| Skirt Steak with Herbs |
After the artichoke and aioli debacle, the rest fell neatly into place. Grill the steak, sautee the potatoes and artichokes together, plate the potato and artichoke hash, top with arugula, slice the steak, put it atop the arugula then add faux aioli. Voila!
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| Grilled Skirt Steak & Artichoke-Potato Hash with Olive Aioli |
This sumptuous hash takes some planning, but the results are truly stunning and make a great dinner beef hash. I paired mine with a Bridgeport Hop Czar because the imperiousness of the label’s czar helped me tame this hashcapade! I hope you enjoy the adapted version.
1 lb of skirt steak
1/2 Tbsp fresh thyme
1 tsp black pepper, freshly cracked
> Rub steak with herb mixture and chill for at least 4 hours and prep next sections, then return to this step after artichokes, potatoes, and creme are done. Salt generously and grill steak on high heat, 4-5 minutes each side or until medium rare, let stand 5 minutes before slicing against the grain with a diagonal bias into thin strips.
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
pinch of pepper
> Thaw artichokes, heat pan to high, then add oil, wait a minute, then add artichokes as seasoning, reducing heat to medium and sauteeing for about 10 minutes, browning all sides then remove.Olive Creme Sauce
1/3 cup creme fraiche
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup black, dried cured olives, pitted, divided (1/2 chopped coarsely, 1/2 as is)
> Combine creme fraiche, garlic and 1/2 the unchopped olives in a mini food processor or blender and pulse until smooth. Add the chopped olives, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Finishing Touches
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp thyme
1 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup chopped shallots
1 Tbsp fresh Italian parsley, chopped
- Crumble the potatoes into bite-sized chunks, while the pan is heated back to high, adding olive oil and waiting a minute. Add potatoes and season with thyme and a generous pinch of salt and pepper, letting one side crisp, then toss to get the rest of the potatoes golden brown.
- Reduce heat to medium, add shallots, artichokes, roasted garlic, and butter, tossing the mixture well and heating up the artichoke, about 4-6 minutes. Stir in parsley and remove from heat.
- Arrange the potato-artichoke hash on a platter, cover with arugula, layer the steak on top and drizzle the creme all over, reserving the rest for the table.
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