Recipe Background
Some steak salads can wow you simply by plating steak on top of a salad. Balsamic Steak Salad seeks to wow you by being the best steak and salad combination around for miles. The steak itself is grilled to a juicy, rosy medium-rare, elevated in its savory flavor with a tangy balsamic marinade... a marinade so good, in fact, that it's also used as the salad dressing. Meanwhile, the salad is fresh and bursting with bright tomato and cranberry flavors, a crunchy bed for the steak to rest its head on the journey to your tastebuds. Balsamic Steak Salad literally cannot disappoint!
Some steak salads can wow you simply by plating steak on top of a salad. Balsamic Steak Salad seeks to wow you by being the best steak and salad combination around for miles. The steak itself is grilled to a juicy, rosy medium-rare, elevated in its savory flavor with a tangy balsamic marinade... a marinade so good, in fact, that it's also used as the salad dressing. Meanwhile, the salad is fresh and bursting with bright tomato and cranberry flavors, a crunchy bed for the steak to rest its head on the journey to your tastebuds. Balsamic Steak Salad literally cannot disappoint!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme minced, or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper plus more, to taste
- 1 (3/4-pound) flat iron steak or top sirloin steak
- 1 (9-ounce) package ready-to-serve salad greens
- 8 cherry tomatoes halved
- 4 radishes sliced
- 1/2 medium ripe avocado thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- blue cheese optional, to taste, crumbled
Directions
- In a bowl, whisk the balsamic vinegar, the olive oil, the lemon juice, the thyme, the salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper together.
- Place the steak and 1/4 cup of the dressing into a resealable plastic bag, reserving the rest of the dressing, covered, in the refrigerator.
- Seal the bag and turn it to fully coat the steak.
- Refrigerate the steak in the bag for at least 8 hours and up to overnight.
- Preheat the grill to medium heat.
- Drain the beef, discarding the dressing in the bag.
- Grill the steak, covered, until the meat reaches at least 130 degrees F internally for medium-rare, about 6-8 minutes per side.
- Let the steak stand for 5 minutes so that it comes up to 135 degrees F for medium-rare, then slice it against the grain.
- Divide the salad greens between four serving plates.
- Top the salads evenly with the steak slices, the tomatoes, the radishes, and the avocado.
- Sprinkle each salad with cranberries, the blue cheese, and the extra pepper.
- Serve with the reserved dressing.
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