CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION

 What’s the occasion? I received a gorgeous gift this week—a 3 ½-pound chuletón, rib steak, of Retinto beef. No occasion, except to celebrate fine food.

Thick-cut, bone-in rib steak of Retinto beef. Cause for celebration.

Retinto cattle are an autochthonous breed native to southwestern Spain, ranging from Extremadura in the north to the beaches of Cádiz in the south. Literally the beach. The cows are sometimes seen meandering on the sands at the edge of the Roman ruins of Baelo Claudia at Bolonia (near Tarifa, Cádiz). 

My son Ben, who surfs along this coast, remembered that I had long been wanting to try this esteemed beef and brought me the steak. He also fired up the grill and cooked the meat to perfection—lightly charred on the outside, rare in the center.

No recipe needed! Sear the meat on both sides. Flip again and grill a few minutes longer. Douse the flare-ups. Serve the fine meat rare.

Carve the meat off the bone, then slice it thickly perpendicular to the bone.

Sprinkle with coarse salt. No sauce needed. Well, maybe a dab of this piquant Gilda sauce.

Although meat of this quality requires neither sauce nor sides, I produced a “Gilda” steak sauce (recipe below), mushroom sauté, and patatas fritas, olive oil fries, to accompany the meat. 

Chopped piparra peppers, olives, and anchovies.

For the sauce, I started with the ingredients of the Basque tapa, the Gilda, and turned them into a piquant sauce. The Gilda, invented in San Sebastian, consists of olives, anchovies and pickled green chilies (guindillas or piparras) speared on toothpicks. The tapa was supposedly invented in the early 1950s to immortalize Rita Hayworth in the film of the same name—Hayworth being “hot,” “salty,” “smooth.” 

Piparra green chilies from the Basque country are mildly-hot, not crazy-hot, similar to Italian peperoncini. The addition of Sherry to the sauce is a nod to the region where Retinto cattle are raised, near where Sherry is produced.

Good with steak, the sauce would also go nicely with a burger or grilled lamb chops. 

Gilda Sauce with Green Chilies

Salsa La Gilda 

¼ cup (packed) coarsely chopped parsley

2 cloves garlic

½ cup drained piparra peppers (3 ounces)

½ cup drained pitted Manzanilla olives (3 ounces)

1 ounce canned anchovies in olive oil (about 6)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon dry Sherry

Pinch of oregano

Freshly ground black pepper

Place the parsley and peeled garlics in a mini-processor and chop finely. Remove stems from the peppers and cut them in half. Place in the processor with the olives and anchovies. Process until chopped. Add the oil, mayonnaise, Sherry, oregano, and pepper. Process until finely chopped. 

Scrape the sauce into a bowl to serve. If preparing in advance, refrigerate the sauce, covered. Bring to room temperature before serving.

For a cookbook (in Spanish): Recipes with Retinto Beef

All about steak and a recipe for chimichurri.

Steak Salad.

Steak Sandwich and Mushroom Ketchup.