Salads are a staple in our house once summer is in full swing and it feels far too hot to cook. To make them more substantial and filling for the endlessly hungry teen of the house, we add some meat and a side of bread. This recipe has a slightly Asian style dressing, combined with fresh pineapple and slices of juicy barbecued steak. Make sure once you have removed your steak from the grill or fry pan to let it sit and rest so that all the juices stay intact—if you begin slicing immediately, all that goodness will run out onto your cutting board, leaving you with a dry steak.
Ingredients:
Dressing:
5 tbsp pineapple juice
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp peanut oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 clove of garlic, minced
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup fresh pineapple, diced
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1 lb flank steak
Salt and pepper
Salad:
6 oz torn red leaf lettuce, about 6 lightly packed cups
1 medium sized cucumber, seeded and thinly sliced
3 radishes, thinly sliced
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
In a mason jar, measure the pineapple juice, soy sauce, peanut oil, sesame oil, lime juice, honey, ginger, garlic, and pepper flakes. Place a lid on the jar and give it a good shake to combine it all. Stir in the pineapple and cilantro.
Grill up the steak, seasoning with salt and pepper. You can also cook it on the stove top in a fry pan. I like to get the pan good and hot, then plunk in my steaks and let them sear before turning them over to sear the other side, and put them in the oven for a short period of time to cook the inside. If you cook these on the grill, you want to do them about 5 minutes per side for medium rare. Make sure to give them time to rest so that all the juices can settle and don’t leak out as soon as you cut into it.
For the salad, toss the lettuce, cucumber, radishes, and green onions together with some of the dressing to coat. Divide the salad among 4 plates, then arrange slices of steak alongside the salad, and have the dressing on the table to drizzle over. You can garnish the dish with more sliced green onions, if you wish.
Serves 4
Adapted from Fine Cooking
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