Farmer's Market Vegetable, Beef, and Brown Rice Salad

This recipe is one of our favorites. Saucy Sally and I make it fairly regularly. Some notes: We often forget to marinate in advance. It's not that much of a problem with this recipe. If you put the rice on to cook when you start prepping the veggies and move on from there, you should have plenty of time to get everything done (including letting the meat stand for 10 minutes) at about the same time.

Also, since we're normally having this as a week night meal and eating the additional two servings for leftovers, we've learned to only assemble half of the salad, so we don't have to heat the tomatoes and chick peas up for lunch the next day.

Rating: 4
Servings: 4
Total time: 40 minutes

Marinade
1/2 cup olive oil
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp honey
4 tsp fresh chopped thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 lb beef top round steak (or flank steak), cut 3/4 inch thick 1 tsp olive oil
2 cups asparagus cut in 2-inch pieces
1 medium yellow squash, cut lengthwise in half, then crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
3 cups hot cooked brown rice
1 cup diced, seeded tomatoes
1 cup canned garbanzo beans, rinsed, drained
1/4 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Combine marinade ingredients in small bowl. Place beef steak and 1/4 cup marinade in food-safe plastic bag; turn steak to coat. Close bag securely and marinate in refrigerator 6 hours or as long as overnight. Reserve remaining marinade in refrigerator for dressing.

2. Remove steak from marinade; discard marinade. Place steak on rack in broiler pan so surface of beef is 2-3 inches from heat. Broil 12-13 minutes for medium-rare doneness, turning once. Remove; keep warm. (Let beef stand for 10 minutes before slicing or serving to enhance flavor.)

3. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add asparagus and squash; cook and stir 7-8 minutes or until tender. Toss with rice, tomatoes, beans, basil, salt, and reserved marinade in large bowl.

4. Carve steak into thin slices. Serve over rice salad.

Spinach-Stuffed Flank Steak

This flank steak didn't do it for us.

Servings: 4
Total Time: About an hour
Presentation: Not for guests


Saucy Sally and I didn't really care for this flank steak, which we pulled from the May 2007 issue of Everyday Food and served with biscuits, steamed broccoli, and small baked potatoes. The meat was tough (perhaps overdone), and the vinegar taste in the spinach mixture turned us off (despite that we both typically like vinegar). We won't be making this dish again.

2 (10 oz) packages frozen leaf spinach, thawed
1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 c grated Asiago cheese
2 tbsp capers, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
coarse salt & ground pepper
1 small flank steak (1 lb)
1 tsp olive oil

1. Heat broiler, with rack set 4 inches from heat. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil; set aside. Place spinach in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. (Note: Saucy Sally did this in a colander over the sink, which worked fine.)
2. In a medium bowl, combine spinach, parsley, cheese, capers, vinegar, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper; toss to combine. (Note: We couldn’t taste the cheese, which was kind of expensive to be wasting in this dish. Also, my thought was that the capers and vinegar together might have been responsible for the unpleasant taste of the spinach concoction.)
3. Butterfly the steak. (Note: When you’re finished, it should be twice as wide, not twice as long, which isn’t exactly how it played out in our kitchen.) Lay the meat on a cutting board with the grain of the steak running horizontally. Using a long sharp knife, cut the meat almost in half horizontally, opening it like a book but stopping before going all the way through.
4. Mix (2 parts) salt and (1 part) pepper in small bowl; set aside.
5. Cut several 9-inch pieces of kitchen twine; space evenly underneath steak. Spread spinach mixture down center of meat. Roll steak over mixture, pressing firmly to compact the filling as much as possible; tie twine to secure roll. Cut roll in half crosswise. Place halves, seam side down, on prepared baking sheet; rub with oil, and season with salt and pepper mixture.
6. Broil until browned, 8 to 10 minutes for medium-rare; let rest, loosely covered with foil, 10 minutes. Remove string, and slice steak into ½-inch rounds.