Straight from Pascal's kitchen

Thanks to my friends Cindy and Ron, I had the opportunity to do some behind the scenes cooking with Pascal Olhats, of the famed Traditions restaurant and Pascal Épicerie. To celebrate Cindy's birthday Pascal took us into his restaurant kitchen and gave us a hands-on demonstration of a variety of quick, easy and delicious meals.

Hanger steak

This classic French bistro steak is very simple and easy to prepare. The only hitch is hanger steak is hard to find as there is only one hanger steak per cow. Most commercial hanger steak is sold to restaurants. When I have the good fortune to find hanger steaks, I stash a couple in my freezer. I have had great luck finding hanger steak at farmer's markets where organic grass fed beef is sold. Independent butchers, such as Celestino's in Costa Mesa, CA, would be another source. See my post on how to prepare skirt, flank and hanger steak.

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Pan sauce

Making a pan sauce is an easy technique to enhance the flavor of beef and other proteins. A pan sauce can be made in just a few minutes while the meat rests. You start with the little brown bits called fond, that are left in the pan after the meat is cooked. Add some aromatics such as garlic, onion, leeks or shallots. Deglaze with a liquid such as wine, stock or citrus juice. Stir up the flavorful brown bits to incorporate into the sauce. Reduce the liquid by half. Add any juices that have collected under the resting meat. Remove from the stove and whisk in a pat or two of cold butter. Season and voilà!

You will be amazed how this simple sauce elevates the flavor of your steak.

Serve with

• Frites, if you really want to go bistro
• Oven roasted vegetables if you want to be healthy (as pictured)
• A simple green salad such as:
  • Canlis salad
  • Orange butter lettuce salad with walnuts & feta
  • Green salad by Ottolenghi
  • Butter lettuce salad with fines herbes & walnut oil dressing

Pascal’s hanger steak with pan sauce

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Pascal Olhat’s classic bistro preparation of hanger steak, just add frites and you might as well be in Paris. Quick, easy and delicious.

• Author: Something New For Dinner
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 12 minutes
• Total Time: 17 minutes
• Yield: 2 -3 servings 1x

Ingredients

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• Olive oil
• 1 T chopped herbs such as thyme or rosemary divided
• 1 T chopped parsley, divided
• 1 hanger steak, about 1 –1.5 pounds, middle tendon removed
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup dry red wine, or a combination of red wine and stock
• 1–2 T unsalted cold butter
• Salt and pepper to taste

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Instructions

1. Rub the steak in olive oil and sprinkle half the herbs on the meat. Wrap in plastic wrap and let sit in fridge for up to 24 hours. If you don’t have time to let sit, go ahead and cook right away.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a hot pan, add about 1 T olive oil and heat until oil glistens. When hot, add the steak. If your oil is hot enough you will hear it sizzle when you add the meat. Brown the meat briefly on all sides. Remove from heat and finish in the oven for about 7 minutes until medium rare.
3. Remove steak from the oven and let rest on a plate. Now you are going to work with the tasty bits left in the pan. Return the pan to the stovetop and add shallots and cook briefly taking care not to burn and scraping up any bits in the bottom of the pan. Add wine and/or stock, bring briefly to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Cook until the pan sauce to about half the original volume, stirring. Take the pan off the heat and add any juices that have accumulated under the resting meat. Whisk in butter. Season with salt and pepper. Cut steak across the grain on the diagonal and dress with the pan sauce. Garnish with remaining chopped herbs.