Monday, April 14, 2008

Pan Seared Steak with Salsa Verde and Green Beans

I am back with another beef recipe for all of you red meat lovers. I will also be posting a nice steak salad recipe later this week with the leftover steak. When I think Salsa Verde I picture a salsa made from Tomatilloes but this is a different kind of 'green salsa' and it pairs beautifully with the steak.








Grab your ingredients for the Salsa Verde!


fresh parsley



Capers. Capers are pickled flower buds. I was afraid of them for a while, but now I really like the unique flavor they bring to a lot of things like salads, pizzas and sauces. As explained on Wikipedia, Capers are categorized and sold by their size, defined as follows, with the smallest sizes being the most desirable: Non-pareil (0-7 mm), surfines (7-8 mm), capucines (8-9 mm), capotes (9-11 mm), fines (11-13 mm), and grusas (14+ mm).



I already had some shallots diced up in my fridge.



White wine vinegar.



A good dijon mustard is an absolute must have for your pantry




chop up your parsley. I use my mezzaluna as it is fun and easy. Thanks Nigella Lawson!


The capers are lovely little bursts of flavor. Give those a chop as well.



get everything in a bowl and mix it up. The salsa you end up with is light and flavorful. It would be great with some wilted spinach and it makes a fabulous tuna salad as I found out the next day when I used up the leftover.



This is not a single serving of steak. I am going to make the whole thing so that I can use the rest tomorrow.


get the steak seared up in the pan. This recipe implies you serve this pretty rare, which is A-OK with me. I love my steaks as rare as possible. If you don't you can throw a lid on the pan and reduce the heat a bit and let it cook a little longer.



while the steak browns you can make a side of roasted green beans. Coat them with a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. Throw them in the oven or toaster oven and broil them up for 5-10 minutes to your desired done-ness.


Flip the steak when it gets browned on one side. Pull it out when the other side browns and let it rest before serving. Drizzle the salsa verde on the top and you are ready to eat!



This is a fast meal and is perfect for a hot day when you don't want to be cooking for too long.
You may not be worried about hot days yet, but it is currently 96 here in sunny Arizona. With that being said I will be doing a lot more stove top and grilled cooking. Also, a few people have commented about toaster ovens and in my opinion they are a must have for cooking for one and for cooking in the summer.

If anyone has any good toaster oven recipes they would like to share, send me an email diningaloneblog @ gmail. com

4 comments:

  1. I think the toaster oven I got is the best thing ever. I love that thing. That looks like it would be good but I would have to cook the steak a little longer :)

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  2. My mom has a mezzaluna and dijon mustard that she never uses! Maybe this is the time!
    Veronica

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  3. I couldn't live (well I could but) without my mezzaluna! Mine's OLD.

    I made your prosciuto wrapped asparagus tonight as a first course for Jeannie's birthday dinner. Everyone loved it - thanks!

    Patience

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  4. Thanks for the caper lesson! I did not know exactly what they were. My mom used to cook with them pretty often when I was a kid. I always thought they were a kind of olive!
    The steak and salsa look so good. I want to try that salsa recip for sure. Probably would be good on chicken too!

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