Uruguay – Chivito
This is no simple steak sandwich, it’s a lesson in sandwich mastery. This is breakfast, lunch and dinner all rolled up into one amazing sandwich. And its good for you too, look at all those vegetables! I never thought a steak sandwich could feel healthy, but I was wrong, oh so delightfully wrong. From the salty, savory steak to the creamy egg yolks and pancetta, delicious sweet red peppers and fried onions topped with the amazingly fresh chimichurri salsa, all on a bed of lovely lettuce and tomatoes. And then that bread, oh that sweet delicious Portuguese bread. I was fortunate to have access to Portuguese sandwich rolls in my area and I urge you to try to find them, my wife Suzy always makes sure she has a stash of some on hand. This is a five star Suzy rated sandwich, I truly hope you will give it a try.
Ingredients
Salt and pepper
3 five ounce slices tender beef steak, cut 1/2inch thick (I used thin Ribeyes)
6 slices pancetta
1 large onion, sliced in thin rings
6 thin slices Monterey Jack or mozzarella cheese
6 small kaiser or Portuguese sandwich rolls, split
½ cup mayonnaise, preferably homemade
lettuce leaves
6 tomato slices
1 roasted sweet pepper
2 hard cooked eggs, sliced
Chimichurri salsa (I used this recipe here- https://cafedelites.com/authentic-chimichurri-uruguay-argentina/ or you could find it in a latin american grocery store)
Instructions
Step 1
Ask your butcher for 3 five-ounce steaks, about a half-inch thick, using rib-eye, shell strip or other tender cut. Trim excess fat from edges if necessary. Cut each steak in half crosswise and lightly pound each piece to a 1/4-inch thickness. You will have 6 small, thin steaks. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 2
In a wide cast-iron pan or ridged grill pan over medium high heat, cook pancetta until crisp, about 2 minutes per side. Reserve. Wipe away excess fat and add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly charred and softened, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and set aside. (Alternatively, grill over hot coals.)
Step 3
In the same pan (or over coals) sear the beef on one side till nicely colored, about 2 minutes. Flip it and top each little steak with a slice of cooked pancetta, a slice of cheese and some charred onion. Cook for about 1 minute more for rare, 2 minutes for medium rare. Remove steaks from heat.
Step 4
Slice the sandwich rolls and spread with mayonnaise. For each sandwich, stack lettuce leaves, cooked steak, tomato slice, roasted pepper and egg if using, and 2 teaspoons chimichurri. Replace the top of the roll and press down lightly. Cut the sandwiches in half if desired. Serve immediately.
Original recipe found here:
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12580-chivito-steak-sandwich
Marty Made It 