Recipes

Char from the grill, cut from the sauce

A big barbecued T-bone brings the richness all by itself — salsa verde's job is to argue with it. Parsley, basil, capers, anchovies, a little vinegar and good olive oil, all chopped into a rough green sauce with sharp elbows. It's five minutes of knife work while the barbecue heats, and it changes the whole plate: spoon it over rosy slices of grass-fed T-bone and every mouthful finishes bright instead of heavy. It's the fastest way to make steak night feel like you cooked, not just grilled.

Set up at lunchtime, on the table by seven

Most marinades exist to soften economical cuts. This one's different — a T-bone doesn't need tenderising, so the balsamic's job is pure flavour: a dark, faintly sweet edge that deepens the crust and seasons the meat a few millimetres in. Whisk it together at lunchtime, slide the steak in, and by dinner the work's already done. Two rules keep it honest: pat the steak properly dry before it hits the pan, and don't run the heat at full blast — balsamic's sugars like medium-high, not scorched.