Rib Eye and Roasted Tomato Sandwich

Washington is full of steakhouses. You can find other kinds of restaurants, of course, but it’s hard to get around the red-meat-and-potatoes vibe here. Sometimes a good steak hits the spot better than anything I can think of, but there always seems to be more meat than I can eat, and I wind up bringing home a little foil bag of barely-charred steak that screams from the refrigerator, “Use me! I was hideously expensive.” So then what?

A big he-man, two-handed, steak sandwich is the only solution. I’ve used this recipe from Gourmet magazine for many years, and it’s perfect for leftover steak. It also makes fantastic game food, if friends are coming to watch a ball game on TV – and it’s so easy if you’re tailgating and barbecuing. All this sandwich needs is good ingredients – steak, fresh bread, tomatoes, greens, and the vinegary sauce to pull it all together. Served with a side of jicama slaw, or a salt and vinegar potato chip, you’ve got a summertime classic – (did I mention the part about the ice cold beer? You probably already figured that out…) enjoy!

Adapted from Gourmet magazine

Serves: 4

Prep time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

4 boneless rib-eye steaks, about ¾ inch thick and about 1/3 pound each
3 shallots, sliced into thin rings
6 medium tomatoes, cut in two crosswise
1 garlic clove, mashed
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons salt, plus one teaspoon salt for steaks
1 teaspoon pepper
8 slices sourdough bread
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
½ cilantro, finely chopped
½ cup mint, finely chopped
8 large romaine leaves

Directions

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
Put shallots, tomatoes, garlic and salt into a baking dish and spoon olive oil over mixture. Arrange tomatoes cut side up, and roast until tomatoes start to brown – about 30 minutes. Tomatoes should be tender. Remove tomatoes and allow to cool.
Prepare grill and set to medium high heat.
Sprinkle each steak with ¼ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon fresh pepper.
Spray grill with oil, and grill steaks about 5 minutes for medium rare, turning once. Remove from grill and allow meat to sit for a few minutes before cutting.
Brush both sides of bread with oil from roasted tomatoes and grill bread on both sides until brown.
Combine vinegar and sugar, and stir in herbs.
To build the sandwich, spread one side of each piece of bread with herb mixture, slice steaks, stack romaine, tomatoes and steak, and top with shallots.
Cut in two and serve.