Cajun Steak Linguine
So... This turned out amazing. There are a few things I will do differently next time, but over all, I was very happy with how this turned out. The steak was so tender and flavorful and the pasta was subtle but delicious and went so well with the steak. Here's how it happened:
I saw a similar recipe (here) while scrolling Pinterest one night, and I just couldn't get it out of my head. So after work I did something I try to never do... I went to Walmart. Let me tell you, that place just makes me batty the moment I step through the door. Hello grocery pickups! Anyway, I didn't really follow that recipe per se, but it did inspire me. I grabbed some ribeye steaks, an onion, linguine and shaved parmesan and ran the heck out of the infernal Walmart.
When I was safely at home, I started by seasoning the steak so it could rest and get closer to room temperature. This is what I used:
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Cayenne
Paprika
Salt (plenty as this really helps the steak get a nice crust)
White pepper
Tepin pepper
Oregano
Now I do not measure, we all know this, but just give the steaks an even coating of each spice, or just to your liking! I went a little heavier on the paprika, I blame my Hungarian heritage.
I then let those rest at room temp while I prepared everything else. Which includes:
Half an onion
Cherry tomatoes (I used a 12 oz container of fun multicolored medley)
Butter
Garlic
Dried parsley
Shaved parmesan
A box of linguine
Get a pot of salted water ready for your pasta, cut your cherry tomatoes in half, and finely mince half of an onion (I used a yellow one).
Now, here's where I messed up; I started the steaks 2 minutes after I put the pasta into the boiling water. I should have waited longer and been patient while the steaks rested and used a separate pan for the pasta fixin's. I thought I was being smart and using less dishes by waiting to do the pasta sauce after the steak, but really it just resulted in cold steak. Next time I will also use a cast iron pan for the steaks.
With that in mind; get your noodles going. While those are boiling, melt a few tablespoons of butter in a pan, I believe I ended up using about 4. Add in your onion, some red pepper flakes and/or tepin pepper flakes, and plenty of minced garlic. (One good thing about cooking my steaks too soon was I got to add in all the steak juices left from them resting into this mixture!) Once the onion mixture is nice and tender add in the tomatoes, salt, and some dried parsley. I ended up cooking the tomatoes too long and they got all soft and basically melted into the pasta when I mixed it in. I didn't hate it though because I am super picky with tomatoes. Just keep this in mind if you're a big tomato fan, they don't need long. Now mix all that into the pasta with some shaved parmesan and adjust seasonings to taste. Add some extra butter if need be, I know I did lol.
Now you can obviously cook your steak however you'd like. I did mine on the stove. If you choose this method remember to do a fast cook at a high heat. Start your steaks and keep them moving to get an even sear. About halfway through cooking add a couple tablespoons of butter and use a spoon to baste while you cook. I flipped or rotated about every minute. They ended up cooking about 8 or 9 minutes and in my opinion we're sliiiightly over done. I like a nice medium rare so I shot for 130°F. I think they ended up somewhere around 140°ish.
Finish it off by slicing your steak decently thin across the grain. Plate your pasta, top with the steak strips and some extra parmesan. Throw on some extra parsley and tepin if you feel like being extra like me 😋
And voila! Cajun steak linguine!
I was happy with how this turned out, but next time it will be even better! My bestie and roommate suggested trying roasted red peppers instead of tomatoes and next time I may just do that!
If you try this one out, let me know how it goes! What did you do differently? How was it?! I'm excited to hear all about it! Let's perfect this together ❤️🔥