Hello, dear readers! I recently attended the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago. It’s the biggest show of the year for restaurant operators, with people coming in from all over the world. I was glad to see many of my old friends there, including Linda Green, the co-publisher of PMQ. Meanwhile, I also enjoyed checking out the many great restaurants in the Windy City.

You may not know this, but Chicago is also the city of steaks. You can find some great steakhouses there. You can also find a lot of Italians in Chicago. So leave it to the Italians to find new and interesting things to do with a good steak. Being Italian myself, I decided to make this simple dish—Pizza Steak—in honor of Chicago. I hope you like it as much as I do. Mangia!

 

You’ll Need:

1 lb. beef chuck steak, sliced thin
3 tbsp. flour
3 tbsp. olive oil
3 garlic cloves
14 oz. plum tomatoes
2 tbsp. basil, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions:

Run the plum tomatoes through a food processor. Trim any excess fat from the steaks and notch the edges slightly with a knife to prevent them from curling during cooking. In a large frying pan or skillet, heat 2 tbsp. of the olive oil with the garlic cloves. As soon as the garlic turns golden, push the cloves to the side of the pan and raise the heat.

Dip the steak slices in the flour and place them in the pan. Brown them quickly on both sides. Remove the steak and set aside. Mix the plum tomatoes and their juices with the remaining olive oil and add to the pan. Return the steak to the pan, remove the garlic, and add salt and pepper. Cook the steak over moderate heat for about 15 minutes.