A Late Summer Feast

The days of summer are waning.The farmer's markets will be closing within a few weeks. The barbecue closed until the Spring.Before all that happens , enjoy the fresh produce that can accompany a good cut of steak. It's the perfect weekend meal for a lazy September weekend,

The recipes come from David Tanis and Allison Roman from yesterday's New York Times Food section. Mr. Tanis writes in his City Kitchen column about a vegetable salad, good on its' own or with Ms. Roman's steak recipe.It has a variety of different beans from coco to cranberry, along with runner or Romano beans. Mixed  in with is is grilled eggplant to give it a smokey flavor along with  sliced medium and cherry tomatoes.It's a perfect marriage of cooked and raw with the tomatoes being left as is , and served at room temperature. The beans are boiled in a combination of water and olive oil, seasoned with salt and a sprig of thyme and rosemary , or bay leaf if you want a stronger flavor. The eggplant can be cooked over a hot grill,under a hot broiler or in a dry cast iron skillet. The vegetables are dressed with an anchovy vinaigrette which brings  out all the flavors.Another idea is adding anchovy filets and then using a plain vinaigrette to dress the salads. I would add the filets - which also would go well with the steak

Allison Roman's steak comes with an unusual salsa verde. The steak is a hanger cut, recommended by her butcher.With it comes the salsa verde, made with kale, mustard greens, and Swiss chard instead of the usual tomatillos, white onions, and cilantro.The steak is  cooked in a large skillet with canola oil. It's simply seasoned with salt and pepper and seared for three to four minutes on each side until it's completely golden brown..It's then laid on the greens  to "cook them." This wilts and soften the leaves, especially the kale. Ms. Roman advises to let the meat juices mingle with them to create a rich , savory sauce.She suggests serving it with salty potato chips or steak frites, but Mr. Tanis' salad can work well with it too.Hanger steak can be expensive (there's only one per animal)so you could use a thick skirt or flat iron cut. The skirt is a thin long cut of beef from the cow's stomach.It has a rich beefy flavor, that may work better with the salsa verde. The other option is the the flat iron steak, taken from the shoulder.It's a fatty piece with a lot of marbling to it, thanks to its' location. Still it's an excellent piece to pan cook or better yet , slap on the grill for a later summer barbecue.

A perfect late summer meal is a cooked steak with a tasty vegetable salad. Combine Ms. Roman's and  Mr. Tanis' recipes for a delicious meal Make it and enjoy the rich earthy flavors of both.