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Recipe Detail Page
Bavette Steak, Mushrooms & Radicchio with Spicy-Sweet Sauce
Autumn 2023
Feeling over-the-top? Salty, sweet and tangy sauce and umami-rich mushrooms served with pleasingly bitter and crispy charred radicchio and an intensely flavoured French steak cut pings like a pinball machine going off, but with a myriad of tastes. If there was ever a dish that embodied drama, this is it!
Serves 6 to 8
1 large lemon
1/2 cup (125 mL) salted butter
3 tbsp (45 mL) honey
3 tbsp (45 mL) harissa paste
1 head garlic, roasted (see TIP)
1/4 cup (60 mL) finely chopped parsley
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 lb (455 g) bavette or flank steak
5 tbsp (75 mL) olive oil, divided
1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) salt, divided, plus more for seasoning
Generous pinches cracked black pepper
1 large or 2 small heads radicchio
1 lb (455 g) mixed mushrooms
3 oz (85 g) blue cheese
1. Finely grate zest from lemon and squeeze juice. You should have almost 2 tbsp (30 mL) zest and 3 tbsp (45 mL) juice.
2. To make butter sauce, set a small saucepan over medium heat. Add butter, honey and harissa. Heat until combined. Squeeze roasted garlic out of its papery skins and mash it into the sauce as best you can. Stir in lemon juice. (If making butter sauce ahead, it will keep well, covered and refrigerated overnight, without garlic added. Add garlic just before serving)
3. To make a gremolata, stir parsley with lemon zest and fresh garlic. Season with salt. (If making ahead, mixture without garlic will keep well, covered and refrigerated, for up to 1 day. Add garlic just before serving.)
4. Before you’re ready to begin cooking, pat steak dry. Rub steak with 1 tbsp (15 mL) oil and sprinkle with 1 tsp (5 mL) salt and pepper. Bring to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, slice radicchio into quarters or thick, chunky wedges. Brush with 2 tbsp (30 mL) oil and sprinkle with some of the salt. Place mushrooms in a cast-iron skillet or grill pan or vegetable grilling basket. Drizzle with 2 tbsp (30 mL) oil and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt. Toss to mix.
5. Oil grill. Preheat barbecue to high, adjusting temperature so it isn’t flaring.
6. Add mushrooms, steak and radicchio to the grill in that order. Sear steak until golden, charred grill marks form, 2 to 4 minutes. Turn and continue grilling until grill marks form on the other side and grill until the steak feels cooked to your liking when gently touched. If it feels like the soft part of your cheek, it’s likely medium-rare, about 2 to 4 minutes per side, depending on thickness. (Very thin steak needs only 2 minutes per side.) When steak is done, loosely cover with foil and set aside for 10 minutes. Cook radicchio until charred before removing to a large bowl or baking sheet, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove mushrooms to a heatproof surface, after about 8 to 10 minutes.
7. When steak has rested, thinly slice and set on a large carving board or platter. Arrange radicchio wedges and mushrooms over the board. Drizzle everything with half of the sauce. Scatter small chunks of blue cheese all over. Serve remaining sauce alongside. Sprinkle everything with prepared gremolata.
Serves 6 to 8
TIP To roast garlic, preheat barbecue to medium, or a toaster oven to 400°F (204°C). Slice top from garlic head and place on a small square of foil. Drizzle with 1 tsp (5 mL) olive oil. Tightly wrap. Barbecue or roast until tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, carefully open foil and let cool. Squeeze softened garlic from paper skins before using.
