This post began after we enjoyed one heck of a salad! I think the star of the dish was the burst of smokey, spicy and sweet salad dressing that I used on a steak salad. This dressing is everything! I put a whole chipotle plus a tablespoon of that spicy red adobo sauce in my Cuisinart blender along with fresh cilantro, a hefty squeeze of honey and the juice of two limes. Whirl that bad boy while you drizzle in olive oil and you have some amazing dressing for a salad or sauce for a steak sandwich.
Layer on flavor by marinating your flank or skirt steak in lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and spices like chipotle or chili powder. If you have some fresh garlic, add that too. This would work splendidly with other proteins like chicken or salmon also.
Dressing Ingredients
1/3 bunch fresh cilantro
1-2 tablespoons honey
1 chipotle pepper plus a tablespoon of adobo
2 limes, juiced
4-6 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
Put the cilantro, honey, chipotle and lime juice in a blender and with the motor running drizzle in the olive oil. Taste and add salt, pepper, more honey or adobo as needed. Save unused dressing in a mason jar in the refrigerator. This can be drizzled on top of the leftover steak wrapped in a warm tortilla to make a killer taco.
For our dinner, I took a cue from Cooks Illustrated and microwaved a cubed sweet potato. After you peel and cube the sweet potato into bite-size pieces, toss in a bowl with a pinch of salt, pepper, and a little olive oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and microwave for three minutes. Stir, cover, and microwave for another three minutes. This will "beef up" your salad and pairs nicely with the chipotle dressing.
The soft sweet potato, mixed greens, and salad dressing were all tossed by hand, then topped with grilled steak. This was so so good, I hope you add it to your meal plan next week.
Read more about...
how to cook a flank steak
how to cook a skirt steak