José Pizarro's Fillet steak on toast with onions and melted cheese
"Cheeseburgers are fast food all over the world, but they don’t have a soul: they are the opposite of everything that Spanish cooking is about. But while not classically Spanish, the beef and cheese is undoubtedly a great combination. So, I decided to take the basic ingredients and make a dish to savour. I used the most tender, char-grilled beef, the most sublime cheese (it is, honestly) and meltingly sweet, caramelised onions. The secret is extra virgin olive oil and slow, slow cooking – for an hour or so. Sadly, Torta de Barros cheese is difficult to track down, so I recommend Camembert with the rind taken off as a substitute."
Ingredients
Caramelised onions- 6 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 5 Medium onions, finely sliced
- 1 tsp Caster sugar
- 1 Small bay leaf
- 4 Fillet steaks, 200g each
- 200 g Torta de Barros or Camembert
- 1 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch Sea salt
- 1 pinch Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 Slices of sourdough bread
- 1 handful Oregano leaves
Details
- Cuisine: Spanish
- Recipe Type: Main
- Difficulty: Medium
- Preparation Time: 5 mins
- Cooking Time: 60 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- First, caramelise the onions: heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed sauté pan over a low heat, then add the onions, sugar and bay leaf. Give everything a good stir, cover with a lid and slowly cook the onions until they are a deep nut-brown colour; stir occasionally. This process will take longer than you think - about an hour. Meanwhile, bring the steaks to room temperature (this will take 20-30 minutes), and de-rind the cheese and divide it into four chunky slices
- Towards the end of the onions' cooking time, heat a non-stick frying pan or griddle over a high heat. Add the oil and, when it's shimmering, put a steak into the pan. You need to fry the steaks one at a time: if you add all four at once they'll steam rather than fry. For rare steaks about 2.5cm thick, cook for 1-2 minutes on each side, and rest for 5 minutes
- Season each steak, place a cheese slice on top of it, and leave somewhere warm so that the cheese begins to melt. Meanwhile, toast the bread.
- Spoon the caramelised onion onto the toast, place the cheese smothered steaks on top, and finish with a sprinkle of oregano leaves and serve
Also worth your attention:
More recipes from José Pizarro
Seasonal Spanish Food by José Pizarro