Red Wine–Braised Flank Steak with Roasted Peppers, Onions, and Gruyère

Name: Red Wine–Braised Flank Steak with Roasted Peppers, Onions, and Gruyère
Yield: makes 4 sandwiches
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons vegetable oil; 1 pound flank steak; 1 medium carrot, cut into large dice; 1/2 white onion, cut into large dice; 2 garlic cloves, quartered; 2 to 3 cups red wine; 2 large sprigs fresh thyme; 2 teaspoons kosher salt; 1 large red onion, sliced crosswise into 3/4-inch wheels; 8 tablespoons Roasted Peppers (page 184); 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1/2 teaspoon sherry vinegar; 4 ciabatta rolls; 8 slices Gruyère cheese

December 9, 2011

This is a sandwich that was so good we had to take it off the menu! Conceptually similar to a cheese steak, it was offered as a pressed sandwich, and when too many people ordered it at once, we had a traffic jam on our premises. So while you can no longer find it at ’wichcraft, you can make it for yourself. Flank steak is wonderfully easy to work with because it’s lean—there’s no waste, and it has an excellent texture for braising. There are many schools of thought about the right wine to cook with. Some advocate cooking with the best wine, or at least a wine that you would want to drink; others believe in using the cheapest wine available. We suggest going with the wine that you can afford to use for cooking or the one you have lying around. At home, whenever he has some leftover red wine at the end of a meal, if he doesn’t drink it the next day, Sisha puts it in a container in the freezer. He keeps adding to that container, and when he needs wine for braising, there it is. The blend is never the same twice—and always good.

Recipe notes