Recipe| November 8, 2020
Photo by Tanveer Badal
“These are some of our family’s favourite dishes. For this cowboy (bone-in rib-eye), we smoke it at a low temperature then sear it in a cast-iron skillet over a wood barbecue. The smoke, the caramelisation, and then the addition of butter, garlic and thyme all build a depth of flavour. This cooking style is called ‘reverse sear’ because you start by slowly bringing up the internal temperature, then finish by searing the outside of the steak over high heat – we’ve been loving this technique with steaks.
Westholme is special – it really has its own thing going on. You’re eating tender wagyu but at the same time you have that beefy flavour. It’s distinctive in the way it’s balanced.
If I think steak, I think potatoes. I’m a potato guy. I legitimately crave them! For this barbecue I made a version of Farmer’s Potatoes, layering them in a cast-iron pan in a rosette pattern, spiralling them up over and again with shallots, garlic and thyme and a little butter sprinkled throughout.
We also do a simple salad with tomatoes, corn and rosemary blossoms. We slice and season the tomatoes then let them sit to concentrate the flavour and let them leach out a bit of liquid which becomes part of the dressing. I toss through some raw, sweet, starchy corn and sprinkle rosemary blossoms over the top. The little flowers have a really nice herbaceous note.
The acidity and brightness of a salad is important with rich red meat – they work together, actually. Those super clean, vegetal aspects and the garden-fresh taste make me want to keep going back to the steak.”
Timothy Hollingsworth is the chef and owner of Otium, Los Angeles.
Serves 6
Time: 3 hours
Photo by Tanveer Badal
Serves 6
Time: 3 hours
1 thick-cut cowboy / bone-in rib-eye steak
1 tbsp sea salt *
1 tbsp black pepper, coarsely ground
3 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp butter
1 bunch thyme
3 cloves garlic, crushed
Notes
Making this dish is a meditation as you slowly layer the slices of potato in a baking dish. Eating it is pure celebration.
15 Yukon Creamer potatoes, medium, thinly sliced *
salt, to taste
black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
3 tbsp shallots, chopped
3 tbsp garlic, chopped
3 tbsp thyme, chopped
½ cup butter, softened or tempered *
½ cup chicken stock
Notes
Photo by Tanveer Badal
Raw corn is unusual but the kernels’ crunch and creamy starchiness work so well with sweet in-season tomatoes and bright, floral rosemary.
900g (2 lbs) heirloom tomatoes, cored and cut in wedges
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt flakes, to taste
black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
1 tbsp shallots, finely chopped
3 ears sweet corn, kernels cut from cob
1 tbsp rosemary, finely chopped
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp rosemary blossoms, optional
Photo by Tanveer Badal