French Onion Salisbury Steak

There is a wee steak under all those onions in the above picture...really.

Finally got around to making this and we just happen to have the perfect night for it. Getting down to freezing and this will be perfect comfort food to go with our recorded episode of Battlestar Galactica! ;-) I was going to serve the Salisbury steaks with a spinach salad, but happened upon a huge, ever so reasonably priced package of monster asparageese at Costco today. Steamed 'em then drizzled with a mustard vinaigrette.

French Onion Salisbury Steak:
(Cuisine at Home magazine)

steak:
1 1/4 lb ground chuck (I used 96% lean...probably too lean for this dish)
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
2 Tbs. minced green onions
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 Tbs all-purpose flour (I used brown rice flour and ended up having to add some cornstarch to thicken the sauce more.)

sauce:
1 Tbs. olive oil
2 cups sliced onion
1 tsp. sugar (agave nectar)
1 Tbs. minced garlic
1 Tbs. tomato paste
2 cups beef stock (Kitchen Basics)
1/4 cup dry red wine
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
optional: splash of balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce

Combine chuck, 1/4 cup parsley, green onion, salt and pepper.
Divide evenly into 4 portions and shape each into 3/4-1 inch thick oval patties.
Place 2 Tbs flour into a shallow dish; dredge each patty in flour. Reserve 1 tsp flour.
Heat oil in a saute pan over med-high heat. Add patties and saute 3 min. on each side, or until browned. Remove from pan.
Add onion and sugar (agave nectar) to pan; saute 5 min.
Stir in garlic and tomato paste; saute 1 min. or until paste begins to brown.
Sprinkle mixture with reserved flour, cook 1 minute.
Stir in broth and wine, then add salt and thyme.
Return meat to pan; bring sauce to a boil.
Reduce heat to med-low, cover and simmer 10 minutes.
After tasting the sauce, I added a splash of balsamic vinegar to add a little more depth. And a wee splash of Worcestershire sauce too...just the very tail end of the bottle.

Serve over mashed potatoes or some other goodness that'll soak up the sauce.