Ribeye with Black Rice and Red Berries

Name: Ribeye with Black Rice and Red Berries
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Argentine
Ingredients: 4 ribeye steaks (about 350 g each and 4 cm thick); 300 g black rice; 1 small onion, very finely chopped, for the rice; 750 ml hot vegetable stock; 2 tbsp olive oil, for the rice; 2 tbsp sunflower or corn oil, for searing the meat; 50 g cold butter, for the meat and the sauce; 2 garlic cloves, crushed, skin on; 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary; 300 ml red wine (a good Malbec or Cabernet works excellently); 150 g red berries (blueberries, blackberries or raspberries, fresh or frozen); 2 tbsp white or brown sugar; Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

⏱ 80 min in total🔪 10 min prep🍳 45 min cooking🧊 25 min resting🍽 4 portiesMedium

Ribeye on black rice, with a reduction of red wine and red berries. A dish for the evening when it has to amount to something.

The heart of it is a technique most people only know from restaurant kitchens: basting. After turning the steak, butter, crushed garlic and rosemary go into the pan; you tilt it slightly and spoon the foaming butter over the meat, again and again, for three to four minutes. That way it cooks from above as well without drying out, and takes up the garlic and the rosemary.

Before that comes the rule that counts with any steak: room temperature. Straight from the fridge the meat cools the pan down, and instead of a crust you get a grey rim. Alongside it, the rustic texture and almond flavour of wholegrain black rice.

Ingredients

Measurements

🍽 4 servings

4 ribeye steaks (about 350 g each and 4 cm thick)
300 g black rice
1 small onion, very finely chopped, for the rice
750 ml hot vegetable stock
2 tbsp olive oil, for the rice
2 tbsp sunflower or corn oil, for searing the meat
50 g cold butter, for the meat and the sauce
2 garlic cloves, crushed, skin on
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
300 ml red wine (a good Malbec or Cabernet works excellently)
150 g red berries (blueberries, blackberries or raspberries, fresh or frozen)
2 tbsp white or brown sugar
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

1
In a pan, heat the olive oil and soften the chopped onion until translucent. Add the black rice, toast it for 1 minute and pour in the hot vegetable stock. Season, turn the heat to its lowest and cook covered for 35 to 40 minutes until the grain is tender but firm to the bite. Keep it warm.
2
The aromatic reduction (sauce): in a separate small pan, put the red wine, the berries and the sugar. Bring to the boil over medium heat and let it reduce by half, pressing the fruit lightly with a wooden spoon so it releases its juice. Once it thickens to the consistency of a light syrup, turn off the heat, add a cube of cold butter for shine and set aside.
3
Bringing the meat to temperature: take the ribeyes out of the fridge at least 20 minutes before cooking. It is essential that they are at room temperature so they do not cool the pan down and can sear properly.
4
High-temperature searing: heat a cast-iron or heavy-based pan over high heat with the two tablespoons of sunflower oil. Season the steaks generously with coarse salt and black pepper. When the pan is just smoking, put them in and leave them alone for 4 minutes to build an incredible golden crust.
5
Basting: turn the steaks. Add a cube of butter, the crushed garlic cloves and the sprigs of rosemary to the pan. As the butter melts and foams, tilt the pan to one side and spoon it constantly over the top of the meat for the remaining 3 or 4 minutes, for even cooking and a formidable aroma. Take the meat out and let it rest for 3 minutes on a board before cutting.
6
Plating and serving: put a generous bed of the hot black rice pilaf in the centre of the plate. Cut the ribeye on the diagonal, in thick slices, to show the pink centre, and arrange it on top. Drizzle the meat and the plate with threads of the red wine and berry reduction.