May 10: Sliced Herb and Garlic Tagliata over Shaved Portobello, Celery, and Parmigiano-Reggiano Salad

4 large garlic cloves, popped from the skins
2 lemons
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves (from 2 stems)
8 fresh sage leaves
2 handfuls of fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
3 to 4 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (from 8 stems)
   Coarse salt and coarse black pepper
   Extra-virgin olive oil, for liberal drizzling
4 thin cut boneless rib-eye or strip steaks
1 celery heart
4 portobello mushroom caps
1/3 pound Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 cups trimmed, washed, and dried arugula
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Preheat a grill pan, outdoor grill, or tabletop electric grill to high heat.

Chop the garlic and set to one side of the cutting board. Zest 1 lemon on the cutting board. Pile all of the rosemary, all of the sage, half of the parsley leaves, and all but 1 tablespoon of the thyme leaves on top of the lemon zest. Chop the herb pile together with the lemon zest, then add the garlic to the pile and continue until all the herbs, zest, and garlic are finely chopped and combined. Add about a teaspoon each of coarse salt and black pepper to the pile and mash it into the herbs and garlic using the flat of your knife and the palm of your hand.

Drizzle EVOO over the steaks liberally on both sides, then evenly smear the steaks with the good goop: garlic, herb, and zest mash. Grill the steaks for 2 minutes on each side for rare, 3 minutes on each side for medium to medium well. Let them rest for a few minutes before slicing.

Cut the celery on a very acute angle, very thinly slicing the greens and stalks. Cut the portobellos straight across but slice them as thin as possible as well. Shred the cheese using a vegetable peeler to make long, thin pieces of Parmigiano-Reggiano. In a large bowl, arrange and combine the celery with the mushrooms and cheese and arugula leaves. Coarsely chop the remaining parsley and thyme leaves and scatter over the salad. Dress the salad with the juice of the zested lemon. Cut the lemon in half across and squeeze the juice out with the cut side facing up. The juice will spill out and down over the sides. It's messy, but it keeps the seeds in the lemon and out of your salad. Generously drizzle the salad with some EVOO to coat and toss the salad lightly with your fingertips. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut the remaining lemon into wedges and squeeze a little juice over the cooked steaks. Slice the meat very thin against the grain and top with Worcestershire or lemon juice. Place a sliced steak on each dinner plate and top with mounds of the salad. YUMMO!

4 SERVINGS

This meal is really good. I liked the salad, but it needed different dressing. Caesar was good on it.