Grilled Steak with Roasted Fennel and Leeks

My husband and I recently stayed at a quaint guest house in central New Hampshire. On the evening of our first night there, we headed to the dining room for a nice, relaxed dinner. After poring over the menu, I decided to splurge and order the steak. It was cooked to medium-rare perfection and graced with a delicious butter and cream sauce. Now, I am usually a purist when it comes to grilled steak - a dash of pepper and salt and I'm a happy girl, but all throughout dinner I could not get over this sauce on my plate. I was tasting it, little by little, trying to pull out the subtle flavors. As soon as we got home from our vacation, I hit the kitchen and developed this rustic dish as an homage to one of the best steak dishes I have ever had.

What You'll Need:

- Your favorite cut of steak (I like ribeye)

- 1 medium sized leek

- 1 fennel bulb

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

- 2 teaspoons salt

- 1 ½ teaspoons ground pepper

- 1 cup wild rice

- 2 ½ cups water

For the Sauce

- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

- ¼ cup heavy cream

- ½ teaspoon orange zest

- 1 teaspoon fresh orange juice

- Pinch of saffron

- Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Begin to boil the 2 ½ cups of water on medium high heat.
3. Wash the leeks and fennel bulb. Starting at the root and ending just as the leaves start to split apart, chop the leeks into rounds about ¼" thick. Place these in a bowl. Finely chop the fennel bulb into cubes like you would an onion. Be sure to remove the top sprigs. These sprigs can be hung upside down and dried to be used in the future. Place the fennel in the bowl with the leeks. Add the oil, salt and pepper to the leek and fennel and toss with your hands to make sure all vegetables are coated.
4. By now, your water should be boiling. Add the rice and bring back to a rolling boil. Once the rice is boiling, reduce heat to low and cover. Let simmer for about 35 to 40 minutes depending on the type of wild rice you purchased.
5. Now that the rice is cooking, this gives us time to prepare the rest of the dish. Layer the leeks and fennel into a casserole dish, baking pan, or even a cake pan (this is what I use) and place in the oven for about 30 minutes or until fennel is mostly tender, but still a little crisp.
6. Now we can prepare the sauce. Place a sauté pan over medium low heat. Add the butter and melt. Pour in the cream, zest, juice and saffron. Stir to combine. The great thing about this sauce is that it can pretty well be left alone while you prepare the other parts of the dish. Just make sure you stir it occasionally so it does not develop a film from the cream. Also, make sure it does not come to a boil. If it begins to boil, turn down the heat.
7. Time to season the meat. Brush a little bit of oil on each side of the steak. Then seasons with salt and pepper. It is best to use either sea salt or kosher salt. Rub the seasoning into the meat to make sure all surface areas are covered. Let the meat sit about 5 minutes to let the salt and pepper do their magic.
8. Place the steak on the hottest part of the grill or griddle for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. If you are unsure about the length of time, when you purchase your cut, ask your butcher how long to cook the steak on each side for your preference of doneness. I prefer medium rare, as this is the best way to coax out those wonderful beefy flavors. Let the meat stand for 5 minutes before serving. This is IMPERATIVE! This ensures the juices will stay in your steak and not leak out all over your plate when you cut into it for the first time.
9. Time to plate! Spoon out about a ½ cup of rice into the center of the plate. Place the roasted fennel and leek mix on top of the rice. Place the steak on top of the roasted veggies. Now for the pièce de résistance - pour some of the sauce over the steak and garnish with shredded carrot.

Enjoy!