Pan Seared Steak with Tomatoes and Onions

It’s no surprise to most readers that I love steak. I’m seventh generation Texan, after all. I didn’t get a teething ring as a child. I got a bone. And my pacifier was a beef rib. I’m all for eating healthy and work hard at making sure I get lots of veggies and salads and such. But slap a steak on my plate and I’m in heaven.

There are ways to make a steak dinner healthier. Always have a good green vegetable and/or a salad. This recipe sort of tops the steak with a salad. At least a steak-house style salad. And I love it! I’m fairly certain you will, too. So let’s just dive right in today – what do you say? Let’s go have some fun!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 pint grape tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh basil
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 to 4 steaks of your favorite cut
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Pepper
Salt

Instructions:

Get everything ready to go before you begin cooking. Take steak out of refrigerator and remove from packaging. Apply a thin coat of olive oil to steaks, then season with onion powder, garlic powder and a generous portion of black pepper. Set aside. Cut tomatoes in half, top to bottom. Cut onion into medium dice. Thinly slice basil and measure out. Now you’re ready to have some fun!

Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the oil and heat until it shimmers.

Add dice onions, then sprinkle sugar over the top. Cook about 4 to 5 minutes, until onions begin to soften. Add balsamic vinegar and continue to another 2 minutes or so. By then, the onions should be soft.

Add tomatoes to pan and cook for just a minute or two to soften them.

Remove skillet from heat and stir in the basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer everything to bowl and cover it to keep everything warm and happy. Just let it all sit there and get to know each other while you do the steaks.

Wipe out skillet and return to high heat. When hot, add butter and let it melt.

As soon as butter is melted, put two steaks in pan. Make sure your fan is on because the butter is going to smoke. Don’t worry. In this recipe, it’s supposed to do that.

Cook steaks on both sides to desired temperature. For a 1″ thick steak, that’s about three minutes per side for medium rare, or about a minute on each side for me.

When done, transfer steaks to cutting board or plates and let them rest for five minutes before serving.

Immediately before serving, sprinkle just a bit of salt over each. Serve with tomatoes and onions and a good green vegetable.

Notes:

For this recipe, I prefer ribeyes or NY strips, depending on my mood, and on whether or not one of them is on sale. But feel free to use whatever cut you like best.

If you need to cook more than two steaks, use two pans if you can so that all steaks finish at the same time.

A lot of recipes will tell you to salt your meat before cooking. I have found that my steaks are juicier if I wait, especially those that are more done. Medium and well-done steaks should never be salted before cooking because it will draw moisture out of the steak, leaving it dry and tough as my old cowboy boots. I love my boots, mind you, but I don’t want to eat them.

Feel free to use red onion in place of white. Also, you can toss in some garlic cloves along with the onions and tomatoes, if you’re in the mood.

I’m going to close now, because I just happen to have a steak waiting for me. It’s Friday night, I’m home with the evening to myself. So I’m going to enjoy my steak and a huge plate of buttered noodles, while I watch some Big Bang Theory reruns. Try this one on for size and leave me a comment about your experience, OK? And don’t forget to have fun and…

Play with your food!

Lane

I have more Beef Recipes here.

Did you like this recipe? What recipes would you like to learn? Leave me a comment and tell me your thoughts! (And don’t forget to LIKE this post!) Share it using the tiles below.

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