Let's be honest, the beautiful medium-rare New York steak in this recipe is merely a meaty complement to the real star of the show: a heap of maitake mushrooms, browned with soy sauce and Dijon and mounted with plenty of butter. You would even be forgiven for eschewing the steak altogether in favor of eating the mushrooms and their glossy sauce spooned seductively over a bowl of rice or polenta.

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Ingredients

2 New York steaks, about 1 1/4" thick
1 tbsp neutral oil
1 lb maitake mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
4 Tbsp butter, divided
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 Tbsp chives, chopped
salt
freshly cracked pepper

Directions

Half an hour before you're ready to cook the steaks, take them out of the fridge and season all sides generously with salt and pepper.

Heat a cast iron pan with 1 tablespoon of neutral oil (like canola) over medium-high heat. Sear the steaks for 1 minute on the side with the fat cap—you might need to help balance them with tongs.

Lay the steaks down and sear on the first side until they develop a dark brown crust, about 4 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and flip to the second side. Cook for another 4 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 130 degrees for medium rare.

Remove the steaks from the pan, cover lightly with tinfoil and let rest while you make the mushrooms.

With the heat on medium, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan. Add the mushrooms and stir so they're well coated in butter and drippings. Let them sit undisturbed until the mushrooms are starting to brown on the bottom, about 4 minutes.

Add the Dijon and soy sauce to the pan and stir to mix well. Let the mushrooms sit for another 4 minutes until they are further browned, then add the chicken stock bring it to a simmer.

Once the stock as reduced by about half, add 2 more tablespoons of butter and stir constantly until the butter is emulsified. Turn off the heat, then stir in 1/2 teaspoon of salt, a few twists of pepper and the juice of half a lemon.

Cut the steaks into 1/2" slices and serve with the mushroom pan sauce over the top. Finish with a dusting of chopped chives.