GRILLED FLANK STEAK WITH TOMATO- PEPPER SALSA

Since we’re in the middle of summer and I’ve lived in my new house for about 6 weeks now, it’s high time I shared a little bit of my backyard with you. We’ve been taking advantage of our built-in BBQ quite often this summer. Today I’m sharing a couple of sneak-peek backyard photos and a recipe that’ll give you a good taste of the summer season: Grilled Flank Steak with Tomato- Pepper Salsa



When steak is on the menu at our house, it’s almost always flank steak or skirt steak. It’s one of those cuts of meat that is so easy to work with since it soaks up marinade fairly quickly, and you can throw the whole thing on the grill and just focus on making that one thing perfect. It’s a good one for my husband, who tends to be the talker in the family. If he has friends near his grill, I have to hope and pray that someone around there is paying attention to the fact that the meat is not cooking itself into oblivion.




He’s a cutie- that husband of mine. And he loves his new grill.




Taking a little tour of my backyard…. we have a large deck off the back of the house, edged by grass and a rock wall. There is also a fire pit over yonder behind my photo-bombing husband. We need to buy some cute low-lying chairs to set around the pit.




Most nights we eat on our back deck. The weather is perfectly warm right now- not too hot and not too cool. Being up in the mountains in the middle of trees helps moderate the warm temperatures of the area. It’s so relaxing and peaceful.




On the other side of our deck we have a couple of seating areas that were created by surrounding the giant trees that are growing through the deck. I’m thinking these will be a great place for the kids to sit when we have big, backyard parties.




So back to the recipe… we like our steak a little more done than medium rare. With flank steak, it’s best to cut it against the grain, and it’s best to cut it thinly. The “salsa” is lightly sautéed and then mixed with lemon and vinegar. If you’re a purist, you can absolutely serve it raw if you’d like. The recipe makes quite a lot, so you can be very generous with topping your steak. You’ll get a bite full of that beautiful salsa with every bite of steak. It’s a nice, colorful, delicious summer dinner idea. Enjoy!




GRILLED FLANK STEAK WITH TOMATO- PEPPER SALSA


yield: 4 SERVINGS
PREP TIME:30 MINCOOK TIME:

INGREDIENTS:
STEAK & MARINADE:
1 1/2 pounds flank steak (or skirt steak)
1/4 cup red wine
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or oregano

SALSA:
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
1 small red onion, diced
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 medium yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
salt and pepper


DIRECTIONS:
1. Marinate the steak: Place steak in a large zip baggie. Add marinade ingredients, zip closed and rub into the steak. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours. Remove the steak from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature 30 minutes prior to grilling.

2. Prepare the salsa: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet. Add the tomato and peppers and saute over medium heat until they are slightly softened. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper. Let sit at room temperature until ready to serve. (Alternately the salsa can be mixed together raw and served raw instead of sautéed. It's totally up to you).

3. Grill the steak: Preheat grill to medium. Drain the marinade and grill steak 5 to 7 minutes per side (depending on thickness and desired doneness). Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing thinly against the grain. Serve steak slices topped with a generous scoop of salsa.