Steak pizzaiola
Thin seared steaks simmered in a garlicky tomato and oregano sauce, Naples-style, with spaghetti to soak up every drop.
- 40 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $4.45 a serving
- 560 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1¼ lb sirloin steak, 4 thin steaks about ½ inch thick
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 can crushed tomatoes, 28 oz
- 8 oz spaghetti
- 6 sprigs fresh basil, leaves torn (optional)
- ¼ cup grated parmesan (optional)
From your pantry
- 1½ tsp salt, divided
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
Each serving has about 560 calories, 41 g protein, 58 g carbs and 20 g fat, and costs about $4.45 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No sirloin steak? New York strip steak or ribeye steak works.
- No crushed tomatoes? Diced tomatoes work.
- No spaghetti? Fettuccine works.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Bring a large pot of water with 1 tsp of the salt for the pasta.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
the steaks dry and both sides with the pepper and of salt.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Heat the oil in a large over medium-high until it . the steaks 1 to 2 minutes a side, until browned, and move them to a plate.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
Sear. Searing means cooking the outside of meat or fish in a hot pan, without moving it, until a deep brown crust forms. The crust is packed with flavor, and it only forms on a dry surface.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the moment it goes in, and it lets go of the pan on its own when the crust is ready.
Medium-high heatTimer: 3 min
Dolly’s tip: They’ll finish in the sauce, so they only need color now.Turn the heat to medium, add the garlic, and stir 1 minute, until .
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Add the tomatoes, oregano, pepper flakes and the rest of the salt, , and 10 minutes, until slightly thickened.
Scrape up the browned bits. It means loosening the brown bits stuck to the pan with a wooden spoon, usually right after adding liquid. Those bits are concentrated flavor, and they melt into the sauce.
How you’ll know: The bottom of the pan looks clean again, and the liquid turns darker and richer.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 10 min
Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti as the package says and it.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
High heatTimer: 10 min
Nestle the steaks and their juices into the sauce and 3 to 4 minutes, until the middle reads 145°F.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
Food safety: Steak, pork chops and other whole cuts are safe at 145°F in the middle, then let them rest for 3 minutes before cutting.
the spaghetti with a few spoonfuls of sauce, then serve the steaks on top with more sauce, the basil and parmesan.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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