Pan-fried steaks

This is an easy, one-pan dish which was once commonplace in Argentina's building sites. Potatoes are often added as they beautifully soak up the flavours of the wine and vinegar.

Credit: Rachel Tolosa Paz

• serves

  2

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 white onion, sliced into thin wedges
• 2 small garlic cloves, halved
• 2 1-cm (½ in) thick Scotch fillet (boneless rib-eye) steaks (about 150 g/5½ oz each)
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 60 ml (2 fl oz/¼ cup) dry red wine
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• bread, to serve (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan over high heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2–3 minutes, until soft but not browned. Push the onion and garlic to the side of the pan, then add the steaks and cook for 3 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper, then turn the steaks over. Pour the wine and vinegar around the steaks, allowing the liquid to sizzle and reduce for 1 minute.

2. Turn the steaks over again and shake the pan to remove any stuck-on bits. Spoon some of the onion and garlic over the steaks and sprinkle with the parsley. Remove from the heat and rest for 5 minutes.

3. Serve directly from the pan with some bread, if desired.

Recipe from The Food of Argentina by Ross Dobson and Rachel Tolosa Paz, Smith Street Books, RRP $44.99

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.