Though this recipe appears in the Meat section, it is really a glorified steak salad. In fact, it’s the best steak salad I’ve ever had.
Here’s why. All previous steak salads did one thing for me. They made me constantly choose between a bite of steak or a bite of salad. When I was hungry for a bite of beef, my fork would have to rummage around for it, knocking back leafy greens as it went. If I wanted lettuce and dressing, my fork would dodge steak bits in search of the perfect stack of leaves. It sounds like a lot of effort because it was. And until this dish, I’ve always wished that my steak would just be served separately from my salad from the beginning.
This steak, and this salad, well, they belong together. In the same bite. Gone were my desires to curate the perfect forkful. Every bite was effortlessly lovely. The flavors and textures worked together so seamlessly that any combination was delightful. The elements to this perfect steak salad are as follows:
Red onion soaked in ice water. This mellows the bite, but leaves enough umpf behind to make the red onion a real player.
The simplest of dressings. Just olive oil, a dash of fish sauce, salt and pepper, mixed with finely chopped dandelion greens and arugula (or in my case, baby kale).
Medium rare steak. The recipe calls for Hanger steak, but I couldn’t find it. I even asked the meat guy at Whole Foods and he said they never carry it. According to the internet, and the meat guy, the closest substitute is Flank steak. So that’s what I used. I seasoned the steak with salt and pepper and seared it in my cast iron over medium-high heat. All it took was 5 minutes on each side and another 5 minutes to rest before slicing against the grain. This steak is solid proof that you really only need salt and pepper to turn out a fabulous piece of meat. That and a meat thermometer so you can easily gauge the cooking time.
Dandelion greens and baby kale. Dandelion greens are very bitter (really, so bitter). And that bitterness, in my opinion, is what made this salad so cohesive. The leaves provided just the right balance to the salty steak. They were meant to be eaten in the same bite. Baby kale was a subtle undertone to the steak and dandelion greens. I chose baby kale because I wanted something a bit mellower than peppery arugula for this undertone role. The greens are tossed with a bit of lemon juice and salt before joining the onions and pieces of steak.
Shaved grana padano really complements the whole ensemble.
Honestly, please try making this salad for yourself. Or ask me to make it for you. I will gladly eat it again.
109 recipes cooked, 116 to go.
