Ribeye Rigatoni
Serves 4
I made this dish the other day and we just loved it. I had gotten some pasta from Doris and was looking for an interesting way to use it. You don’t have to use rigatoni, other short pastas will work but I would not recommend a long pasta like spaghetti. You need something that can stand up to the steak! I also highly recommend you use a cast iron skillet to make this dish, I even serve it right out of the skillet.
Here is what you need:
1 ½ pounds of thin sliced ribeye steaks (mine were just over a half inch thick, boneless)
2 TBS unsalted butter
1 TBS olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
12 ounces of dry rigatoni pasta
4 cloves of garlic, grated
1 pint grape tomatoes
¼ to ½ cup sliced Kalamata olives (personal taste on amount of olives)
2 TBS drained capers
1 cup pasta water
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup freshly chopped parsley plus some for serving
Here is what you need to do:
Cook your pasta according to package directions but dial it back about a minute. Salt the water once it starts boiling. You don’t want to overcook the pasta, you want it just under because it’s going back in the pan to finish cooking. Reserve one cup of the pasta water then strain the pasta in a colander. Another thing, you want to rinse the pasta under cold water. I know we don’t normally do this but for this recipe it’s fine because you want to stop it from cooking anymore.
Let your steak get to room temperature before you cook it, season with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat a cast iron skillet to medium high and add one TBS oil and one TBS butter to the pan. Since my steaks are thin I only cooked them about 2 minutes per side. Then you want to place them on a cutting board and cover them with foil and let them rest while you finish the dish.
Turn down the heat a bit and wipe out the skillet with a paper towel and add the other TBS of butter. Add the tomatoes, olives and capers to the skillet, season with a little salt and pepper, not too much salt because the olives and capers are salty. Sauté for a couple of minutes then add in the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add in the pasta water, pasta, Parmesan cheese and parsley. Toss everything together. Slice the steak against the grain in strips, set on top of pasta for a moment to let warm a bit. Sprinkle with some parsley and I serve it at the table right out of the skillet. Let's Eat!!