On this episode of Give a Chef: a Steak, Argentinian chef, teacher, and author Gaby Melian turns a T-bone steak into nachos, her way.
Melian starts her nachos by making a Brazilian-inspired chimichurri with mango, garlic, and cilantro. After chopping the mango and pulsating the cilantro and garlic together in a food processor, Melian brings everything together with lemon juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and spices. “I want to apologize to all Argentinians, and my mother especially,” she jokes. “Because I’m going to be using mango and cilantro, something Argentinians don’t do.”
After the chimichurri is prepped, Melian expertly sears her T-bone, cooking it to 120 degrees F, before letting it rest. Once the steak has rested for at least seven minutes, Melian demonstrates how to cut a T-bone, leaving minimal meat on the bone. “Save this for your dog,” she says. Once the meat is removed from the bone, Melian cuts it into bite-sized pieces—and sneaks a few bites for herself.
Now that everything is prepared, Melian assembles her nachos. She tops the chips with cheese, olives, red onion, and even more cheese before putting the tray in the oven. Once the cheese is melted and the chips have come out of the oven, Melian adds on her steak, cilantro, mashed avocado, tomatoes, sour cream, and — the star of the show — her mango chimichurri. “Fun for summer, easy,” Melian says as she tries her creation. “I’m gonna eat some more.”
Watch the latest episode of Give a Chef to follow along as Gaby Melian makes the perfect summer snack.