Steakhouse Salad
Salad for dinner, especially in the hot summer, is a great choice as a quick healthy option. I especially love, what I call, “platter salads.” Salads that are spread across a large platter with various veggies, a protein and cheese across the top.
Versions of this Steakhouse Salad can be found in many restaurants, which served as our inspiration. The dressing is our simple everyday vinaigrette. The only cooking is grilling the steak and veggies, which keeps the kitchen cool in the hot summer!
First make a rub for the meat. We wanted a little smoky flavor to combine with the creaminess of the blue cheese and pepperiness of the arugula in the salad. But we did not want spice se we went easy on the crushed red pepper. After mixing the dry ingredients, add a bit of olive oil to create a bit of a paste.
Fajita meat or a skirt steak works well for this. Not an expensive cut of meat, so it does need a bit of trimming. After it’s trimmed, lay plastic wrap on the counter and begin to rub the steak by hand. Be sure to coat all sides. Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour or more.
Just before grilling the steak, pull together the salad ingredients. We love a combination of grilled and uncooked veggies.
Note: the two little bell peppers are from our garden! They took 5 months from planting to harvest, but they are so cute and ended up being very sweet!
Grilled Veggies
Simple garlic salt on the asparagus then drizzle olive oil on both the asparagus and avocado.
Slice the rest of the fresh veggies. Cut cherry tomatoes in half, then make strips of the red onion and red bell pepper. Hint: to mellow the red onion, cut early and leave out in a bowl or place in a bowl of cool water for a few minutes.
Time to Grill the Meat
Look at that rich red color of the smoked rub! This thin cut of meat does not need long to cook at all.
After the meat is done, let it rest either on an upper grill or on a plate. Then it’s time to grill the asparagus and avocado. They each only need a few minutes, turning the asparagus often. The avocado cooks best with the skin still on.
Almost done!
As the meat is resting and the veggies are off of the grill, it’s time to pull the salad together.
You can either just drizzle the dressing on or toss ahead of adding all of the veggies.
Time to slice the steak.
Slice the steak thinly against the grain. That was each person can have several slices along with their salad.
Lay the sliced pieces across the top of the greens. Place the veggies around the plate and then sprinkle the blue cheese all around! Serve additional dressing and blue cheese on the side, if desired. All made on the grill and in the kitchen without using the stove or oven. Yum!
Steakhouse Salad
Ingredients
- 1 1lb skirt steak (fajita meat)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 6 cups mixed greens, including arugula
- 1/4 of one red onion, thinly sliced
- 10 stalks of asparagus, trimmed and ends removed
- Garlic salt
- Olive oil
- 1 small bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 small avocado, halved, pit removed, in it's shell
- Blue cheese crumbles
- One recipe of: Everyday Vinaigrette for the dressing
Instructions
- For the steak: Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add the lime juice and blend with a spoon. It will have the consistency of a thick paste. Finally drizzle in the olive oil into the mixture and incorporate.
- If necessary, trim the excess fat off of the meat. Roll out plastic wrap onto a clean counter. Place the trimmed meat on the plastic wrap. With your hands rub the seasoning paste all over both sides of the meat. Place in a pan and cover for at least one hour or up to 5 hours.
- Pre heat the grill to high. Place steak on the grill and cook for about 4-5 minutes depending on thickness. Turn and cook on the other side 4-5 minutes more. Remove from the gill and let rest while pulling the rest of the salad together.
- For the grilled vegetables: Place asparagus in a shallow dish. Drizzle enough olive oil over to lightly coat the asparagus. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on the avocado halves. Shake a fair amount of garlic salt on both the asparagus and avocado. While the meat is resting from the grill, place the asparagus on the grill with the avocados face down. Grill for about 2-3 minutes, moving the asparagus around with a spatula. Check the avocado frequently to ensure they are not burning. When done, remove from the grill.
- For the salad: Just before grilling the meat and veggies prepare the salad.
- Scatter the greens across a platter. Scatter the bell pepper, cherry tomatoes and red onion across the greens. Set in the refrigerator while grilling.
- Final assembly: Shake the vinaigrette over the greens, bell pepper, tomatoes and onion. Remove the avocados from the shell and slice. Place on the platter. Place the asparagus on the platter. Slice the steak into thin strips. Lay the steak across the top of the greens. Scatter the blue cheese crumbles over the entire dish. Serve with additional blue cheese and vinaigrette on the side. Enjoy!
- The dressing recipe is found here: Everyday Vinaigrette