Marinated Flank Steak Salad
a
with homemade blue cheese dressing

Indulged a bit over the holidays? Our Flank Steak Salad recipe comes to the rescue with a dish that deliveres satisfying flavor without being too heavy. A healthy salad is topped with sliced flank steak and dressed with a homemade blue cheese dressing. While flank steak can be chewy, the combination of a flavorful marinade and slicing against the grain of the meat keeps it tender.

We love a hearty red wine with red meat, but the creamy dressing and salad can be overwhelmed with a wine that's too tannic or strong. Our wine pairings for this recipe include two Cabernets that have the richness for the meat, but maintain enough freshness and smooth texture for the other ingredients. Both hail from South America: our 'Splurge' is from the Maipo Valley in Chile, and our 'Steal' from Mendoza, Argentina.

Wine Pairing

"Splurge"
2007 Cousiño Macul Cabernet Sauvignon Antiguas Reservas, Maipo Valley
Earthy, natural aromas take some air to open up. Hearty tannins sweeten on the finish. ($15)

"Steal"
2008 Alamos Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendoza
Shockingly good for the price, with a lovely balance of ripe dark fruit, moderate tannin and acidity. ($10)

Flank Steak Salad Ingredients:

1.5 lb flank steak
1/4 cup worcestire sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove of garlic
1 shallot
1 cup red wine
6 cups mesclun mix or other greens
2 cups broccoli florets
2 cups cauliflower florets
3 cups grape tomatoes
1 large English cucumber

Blue Cheese Dressing Ingredients:

1 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup light cream
fresh chives 

Flank Steak Salad Cooking Instructions:

1.) Dice shallots. Season steak on both sides with salt and fresh ground  pepper. Place in a large Ziploc container with worcestire sauce, soy sauce, red wine and olive oil.

2.) Seal bag and shake to ensure meat is evenly coated. Leave to marinade in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or up to 8 hours.

3.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium high heat.

4.) Remove meat from marinade, and sear in skillet 2 minutes on each side, then move pan into oven and cook for another 8 minutes for medium rare. Adjust time as desired if more or less 'doneness' is preferred.

5.) Remove steak from oven and allow to rest (10 minutes). Slice meat against the grain (you want the meat to have short rather than long fibers, which makes it less chewy).

6.) To prepare the salad, halve tomatoes and slice cucumber. To make dressing, chop 2 tbsp of fresh chives. In a small bowl, combine blue cheese, sour cream, light cream and chopped chives and mix well.

7.) In a large bowl, mix greens, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumber and dressing. Plate salad with a few slices of steak and serve!


Next Recipe: NY Strip Steak with Red Wine Sauce & Parmesan Fries