Serves 4-6
NOTE: A beautifully marbled ribeye steak will be plenty flavorful on its own with just some salt and pepper.Save the spices for another use; they tend to burn easily and become bitter at high heat anyway.
Ingredients
For the steak:
4 1# bone-in ribeye steaks (about 1 ½” thick)
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
¼ c. vegetable oil, divided
For the salad:
6 ears corn, shucked
1 pt. cherry tomatoes
4 scallions, thinly sliced, whites and greens separated
¼ c. basil leaves, loosely packed, for garnish
For the vinaigrette:
¼ c. plus 2 T. pesto (homemade or store bought)
2 T. extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 T. white balsamic vinegar
Instructions
About 30 minutes before you’re ready to cook, remove steaks from the refrigerator. Season generously with salt and pepper and let sit, loosely covered, to come to room temperature.
Heat a large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high heat. When skillet is hot, add 2 T. vegetable oil. When oil is shimmering, sear steaks in batches, cooking until deeply golden brown, 3-5 minutes per side for medium-rare (an internal temperature of 130 degrees; steak will come up to 135 degrees as it rests), or to desired doneness. Remove steaks from the pan and transfer to a cutting board to rest, loosely tented with aluminum foil, at least 10 minutes.
While steaks rest, transfer corn to skillet and cook, turning occasionally, until lightly charred in places, 4-6 minutes.Transfer to a cutting board to cool slightly. Add cherry tomatoes and scallion whites to skillet, adding a drizzle of olive oil if necessary and seasoning to taste with salt and freshly cracked black pepper, and cook, stirring, until tomatoes are charred in places and beginning to burst, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
To make the dressing, whisk together the pesto, olive oil, and white balsamic vinegar in a small bowl until wellcombined, then season to taste with salt and pepper. When corn is just cool enough to handle, carefully slice the kernels off the cobs with a sharp knife and transfer to the bowl with the tomato-scallion mixture. Add half of the pesto vinaigrette to the bowl, along with the scallion greens, season to taste withsalt and freshly cracked black pepper, and toss everything together until well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more dressing if desired, and serve immediately alongside steaks, drizzled with olive oil and garnished with torn basil leaves.
If using a grill
While seasoned steaks come to room temperature, heat grill to high. Brush steaks on both sides with oil. Transfer to the grill and cook until deeply golden brown and beginning to char in places, 4-5 minutes. Flip steaks and continue to grill to desired doneness, 3-5 minutes more for medium-rare (an internal temperature of 130 degrees; steak will come up to 135 degrees as it rests). Remove steaks from the grill and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes on a cutting board, loosely tented with aluminum foil, before serving.
While steaks cook, grill corn until lightly charred on all sides, 4-6 minutes. At the same time, grill cherry tomatoes and scallion whites in a grill basket until tomatoes are lightly charred and beginning to burst, 2-3 minutes. Remove vegetables from grill and proceed with recipe as written above.
