T-Bone Fiorentina with Sauteed Spinach (Bistecca alla Fiorentina)

I spent the day today in the Benares kitchen with some other foodies and we had a really nice time during the masterclass and sitting down to a great lunch and a nice chat with Chef Atul Kochhar, whose recipes have been getting a lot of airplay on this blog as of late. While I have no photos of the event, I'll be cooking a good bit of it this Friday for our friends Mark and Selena.

Back to the present.

We had some feather steak (AKA blade steak AKA flatiron steak) left in the freezer which we had been thawing, knowing that we would want to throw something simple together after coming home from London.

We had Steak Florentine in Florence, made by Florentines. It was wonderful. While the 'official' Steak Florentine is made with T-Bone steak, as long as you get the flavors in there and serve it rare, you'll do just fine.

Just a quick saute of some spinach in garlic and olive oil, finished with pine nuts and raisins (which is sort of a nod to the Spanish) and you're off and running. We had been saving a great Australian Shiraz which we had shipped back. We're leaving next month and the time had come. It paired wonderfully with this steak.

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1 t-bone steak, at least 3 inches thick, 3-3 1/2 pounds

2 tablespoons pure olive oil
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil, preferably Da Vera
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4 lbs. baby spinach, stems removed, washed, and spun dry
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon coarse salt

Preheat the grill or a cast-iron pan over high heat.

In a small bowl, mix together the rosemary, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper until well blended. Pat the steak dry and coat the entire steak with the herb mix. Brush gently with the pure olive oil. Place on the grill and cook until well charred, about 12 minutes on the first side, then cook about 9 minutes on the second side; this is traditionally served rare. Transfer to a platter and let stand for 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a 10- to 12-inch saute pan, heat 1/4 cup of the extra-virgin olive oil over high heat until smoking. Add the garlic and cook just until light brown. Add the spinach and stir until just wilted. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Carve the fillet and the strip steak from bone and slice. Divide the steak among four plates, arrange the spinach next to it, and drizzle with the remaining 1/2 cup extra-virgin oil. Season with coarse salt. Serve immediately.