Marinated Steak & Arugula Salad

Marinated Steak & Arugula Salad

 

Tomorrow night, I am making a southern food feast. I am so so so excited! I knew I wanted to make something quick and fairly light, because tomorrow night I will be gorging. I was already heading to Whole Foods to get some good, quality meat for ribs, so I got to grab some of the yummiest ingredients not only for tomorrow night, but for tonight as well. I snagged a bag of pine nuts (SO expensive, but SOOO worth it), arugula, French wine, (which I am trying to incorporate into most meals because it is just.so. delicious.), as well as an unreasonable amount of kale and strawberries. Score.

I already had tri-tip that I needed to use in my refrigerator, so I chose to make a simple steak and salad. Steak is a really good go-to if you're not really sure what to make for a main entree. Steak always turns out pretty well, and unless you legitimately forget about it and burn it, it usually tastes pretty delish too.

I decided to go with my own twist on simple recipes for tonight. The ingredients that I used are must-haves in most active kitchens.

Last Sunday, my mom, boyfriend, and I went to an amazing Italian restaurant in North Berkeley. We were so hungry, and wanted to try everything, so we ended up getting three different appetizers and three different entrees. What can I say, my family LOVES food. A simple arugula salad happened to be of these appetizers, and it had come with shaved Parmesan and toasted pine nuts, so I went with that. I learned from my mother that walnut oil and lemon juice go very well together for a dressing, and is also fairly low in calories.

Marinated Steak


Ingredients:

12 oz tri-tip steak
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
6 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon lemon pepper
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat for five minutes, to get it very hot
3. Combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, lemon pepper, cayenne powder, and salt and pepper in a large bowl

4. Sprinkle the cast iron skillet  with 1 tablespoon of salt (which locks in the juices when you sear the steak)
5. Add steak to the olive oil mix, and coat completely
6. Place steak in the skillet, and sear each side for about 3-5 minutes (depending on the thickness)
7. Place steak in a baking dish, and bake for an additional 10 minutes
8. Take out and check the redness of the center. If it is too pink, put it back in the oven for a few more minutes. (But, just as a side note, when you take steak out to cool it continues to cook for several minutes).

Arugula Salad

Ingredients:

3 cups Arugula
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup shaved Parmesan
1/3 cup walnut oil (which is fairly more expensive than olive oil, but works wonders in sauces and dressings...not to be cooked with, though, as it doesn't stand up to very high temperatures like olive oil can. It can be found at most grocery stores)
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

1. Combine the walnut oil and lemon juice for a dressing

2. Toast pine nuts in a toaster oven, or on a small pan over low heat. Be very careful, as pine nuts can go from perfect to burned in about 5 seconds
3. Combine all ingredients, including the cheese, in a large bowl and serve immediately