BEEFSTEAK AND CREAMY MUSHROOM RISOTTO

   Steak...the holy grail for any meat lover. Whether if it's pork, beef, venison or any kind of meat cut, steak will remain the ultimate and yet the simplest dish. I personally rarely cook steak in pan, I'm that kind of guy who likes his steak a little bit smoked so I keep it for summer days when I'm going on a picnic and I can cook it on a grill. Today was not one of those days, but still it turned out to be a very good decision!

   It started as an idea of a steak with mushroom sauce but after a few thoughts the mushrooms ended up in a creamy and delicious risotto which went perfectly with my spicy beef steak.

BEEFSTEAK AND CREAMY MUSHROOM RISOTTO

Beefsteak
serves 2

2 slices beef tenderloin ( 1 inch thick )
1/2 chili pepper
1 spring of rosemary
salt and pepper
1 knob of butter
2 tablespoons of oil

   Pat dry the tenderloin slices, season with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the oil in a pan until smoking hot and put one or both slices on frying (depends how big is your pan) and fry them at medium high until golden brown on one side, turn them on the other side and add the rest of the ingredients: butter, rosemary spring and chili pepper sliced. Let the butter melt and glaze the meat with aromatic sauce until is done.

Mushroom Risotto
serves 2

1 small onion
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 cup rice (I used long grain rice)
300g of mushroom (I used porcini mushrooms)
chicken stock 
salt and pepper
parsley for seasoning 
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 knob of butter

   Thinly slice the onion and fry it until translucent, add the garlic and the mushrooms chopped. Fry the mushrooms until all the liquid is evaporated and start to caramelize then add the rice and keep frying it a little bit (now is time to add a splash of white wine if you want). Add a little bit of chicken stock and stir (chicken stock must be hot/almost boiling) let the rice to absorb the liquid then add a little bit more continuing to stir. Repeat this process until the rice is done, add the butter, season with pepper, salt if it needs more (the chicken stock can be salty enough) and parsley.