Flank Steak with So-Hot-You-Can't-Eat-It Pepper and Watermelon Salad

I pulled this recipe out of Bon Appetit (no surprise) last summer, thinking it sounded pretty good. We never had the chance to make it before grilling season ended, so last week we finally got around to it.

This is an interesting one. Husband doesn't like watermelon much, so the salad was already kind of a miss, but it was so spicy that neither of us ate much, throwing away most of the salad.

The next time we make it, there will be drastic changes:

• The meat marinade wasn't noticeable, even though it sat for nearly 12 hours. I'd use the dressing for the salad as a marinade instead.
• The salad is an interesting concept, but a little too variable in terms of texture and of course it was too spicy. I might leave out the watermelon, halve the quantity of sriracha, and double the honey.
• It needed a starch. I'm making rice with it next time and dealing with it more like a stir fry (hence, no watermelon).

The Original Recipe: Grilled Flank Steak with Spicy Pepper and Watermelon Salad

Flank Steak:
1 1/2 Tbs fresh lime juice
1 Tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tsp sambal oelek (a hot chili paste)
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp honey
1 1/2 lb flank steak

Pepper and Watermelon Salad:
1/4 cup sriracha (hot chili sauce)
1/4 olive oil
3 Tbs seasoned rice vinegar
1 1/4 tsp honey
4 bell peppers of varying color, cut into 1/2-inch squares (2-3 is plenty, really)
2 Tbs minced red jalapeno chiles (we used green, it was fine)
2 cups 1/2-inch cubes of seedless watermelon

Steak Preparation:
Whisk all ingredients together (except steak), pour into a ZipLock bag with the steak and let marinate as long as possible, ideally 4 hours up to 1 day (chill, obviously). Bring to room temperature before grilling.

Salad Preparation:
Whisk sriracha, oil, vinegar, and honey in a small bowl; season dressing with salt and pepper. Place peppers and chiles in large bowl. Toss with 6 Tbs dressing. Let marinate 2 hours at room temperature.

Prepare barbecue (high heat). Grill steak until cooked to desired doneness. Transfer to work surface; let rest 10 minutes. Thinly slice steak against the grain. Drizzle with some of the remaining dressing from the salad.

Toss watermelon into pepper salad. Serve flank steak and salad with remaining dressing alongside.

***

When we make this again, I'll post the new recipe and let you know how it goes.

Salsa Verde

As mentioned yesterday, we've been looking for a good taco recipe. In the process of searching for one, it goes without saying that we stumbled across some pretty bad tacos. One of them was a fish taco recipe.

Now, I've had good fish tacos. These, however, required about two hours of preparation for an entirely underwhelming product. On the plus side, however, the salsa recipe that was paired with the tacos turned out to be a real winner. Paul especially likes the smoky grilled flavor of the vegetables.

A couple of things to note: if you like spicy salsa, use the serrano chiles, without the seeds. If you're a masochist, leave the seeds. If you like spicy things, but don't want to burn yourself, use jalapenos. They'll be just fine. Also, if you're like me, remember to wear gloves when chopping up the peppers! My hands burned for hours afterwards, and I had to sit around with my fist in a glass of milk to aleviate some of the pain. A margarita helped some more.


3 unpeeled garlic cloves
1 pound fresh tomatillos, husked, rinsed
1 small onion, quartered through root end
3-6 serrano chiles (HOT), or 2-4 jalapeno chiles (just hot)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp sugar
Coarse kosher salt
2 Tbs olive oil
1 cup low-salt chicken broth
2 Tbs fresh lime juice

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Thread garlic onto skewer. Grill garlic, tomatillos, onion quarters, and chiles until dark brown spots form on all sides, about 9 minutes for onion, 6 minutes for tomatillos and chiles, and 4 minutes for garlic. Cool.

Peel garlic. Trim core from onion. Scrape some of burnt skin off chiles; stem. Seed chiles. Coarsely chop onion, chiles, and garlic.

Transfer tomatillos and all vegetables to blender. Add cilantro and 1/2 teaspoon sugar; puree until smooth. Season to taste with salt.

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over high heat. Carefully add tomatillo mixture (juices may splatter). Stir until slightly thickened, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add broth and 2 Tablespoons lime juice. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer until mixture measures 2 1/2 cups, about 10 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and more sugar and lime juice. Can be made ahead.

Originally from Bon Appetit Magazine.