Whenever I think of meat and potatoes, steak and mashed potatoes come to mind right away. I almost immediately picture this quintessential dish of a giant slab of red meat with a pile of home fries. I wanted to slightly change that up, by doing potatoes two ways, and trim down the portion to be something dainty and elegant. I love making pressed vegetable or fruit chips, because they have this rigid, flat appearance that adds instant height. So I figured, why not do that with some potatoes? In addition to a silky, creamy pomme puree, these potato chips can add some nice texture. I went traditional here with the meat and just did a ribcap steak. I wanted the steak to just be nicely seared, and since the ribcap has an almost buttery texture and a decent amount of flavor to it, it could just stand on its own. For my sauce, because I came to realize this year that beef and prunes is actually a delicious combination, I went with a sake-prune agro dolce. Agro dole is an Italian sauce, translating to sweet and sour. I’m using prunes and sake for sweetness, and rice vinegar to cut through that and to add some acidity. That, coupled with some demi glas and beef stock, results in this punchy sauce that is kind of like French onion soup – it works really nicely with the beef and the puree! I also added nasturtium leaves and flowers, which are peppery, to play off of the maldon salt that I’m finishing the steak with, for a play on salt and pepper, which is honestly all you need for a good steak.

Makes 2 servings:
For the pressed potato chips:
1 russet potato
2 tbsp olive oil
a pinch of salt

Peel a russet potato and slice on your thinnest setting on a mandolin. Rinse the slices in water and pat dry. Toss with olive oil and salt and place between two pieces of parchment paper, and place that between two sheet trays. Bake the chips at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes.

For the pomme puree:
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup whole milk
4 tbsp unsalted butter
a pinch of salt
2 russet potatoes

In a pot, heat up the garlic, cream, milk, butter, and salt. In another pot, boil heavily salted water. Peel and dice your potatoes and boil those in the water until fork-tender. Drain the water and pass the potatoes through a ricer. Puree the garlic into the cream and milk then fold through that the riced potatoes to form your puree.

For the sake-prune agro dolce:
1 shallot, diced
1 tbsp beef tallow
4 prunes, pitted and diced
2 tbsp cooking sake
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2oz veal demi glas
2oz beef stock

In a pan, start by sweating out the shallot with beef tallow until translucent. Add to that the prunes and deglaze with the sake and rice vinegar. Allow everything to simmer until the prunes are tender, before adding in the demi glas and beef stock. Cook the liquid down by half to finish.

For the steak:
1 8oz ribcap steak
salt
ground black pepper
2 tbsp beef tallow
2 tbsp unsalted butter

Generously season the exterior of your steak with salt and pepper. Line a pan with beef tallow and place on high heat. Sear the steak on medium-high heat in the pan on each side for 2 minutes. Then add to the pan your unsalted butter and allow that to melt around the steak. Baste each side of the steak with the butter 30 times. Once your steak registers to 125 degrees F, allow the steak to rest at room temperature for 5 minutes before slicing to finish.

For garnish:
Nasturtium leaves and petals
Maldon salt

Sprinkle maldon salt onto the steak pieces. Start by placing the steak onto the bottom of the plate, then add a quenelle of the puree next to the steak. Make a small pocket into the quenelle, then spoon into that your sauce, and garnish the top of that with nasturtium leaves and petals. Then top with the chips to finish.