Grilled Steak Salad

Summer means grilling in our family, although I’m always looking for ways to increase flavor and move away from a simple grilled meat and side vegetable for dinner. Grilled Steak Salad does all that and more. The steak is the star of this meal with a smoky, slightly charred exterior and tender inside. The salad of baby arugula and escarole give it a bitter edge that pairs with richness of the steak. These flavors are brought together with the dressing, which combines garlic-infused olive oil and lemon juice to bring a bright citrusy punch to the overall meal. It’s a simple dressing but worth making, as the team agreed, this was what made the salad special. If you don’t have garlic-infused olive oil, you can make your own by cooking garlic cloves over very low heat with the olive oil. Trust us, it’s worth it.

Prepping the Ingredients

Part of the reason I love to grill in the summer is that the cooking happens outside, keeping my kitchen cool. The prep part of this recipe is super simple, which is even better. Start by cutting the red onion with the 6″ Vegetable Knife into half-inch slices.

Using a Spatula Spreader, cut the avocado in half, remove the pit and peel off the skin. Cut each half into slices and sprinkle with lemon juice to ensure the avocado doesn’t brown.

Use a Santoku-Style Cheese Knife to cut the grape tomatoes in half. If the tomatoes are on the larger size, you can cut them into quarters.

Chiffonade or rough-cut the basil leaves, using a 7-5/8″ Petite Chef. Toast the pine nuts in a small skillet over medium heat, making sure to keep an eye on them as they can go from brown to burnt quickly.

Making the Salad

For the salad, start by making the dressing. In a blender, add the oil, vinegar, honey, lemon juice, coriander, salt and pepper, and blend until smooth. You can also use a Mix-Stir to combine the dressing ingredients in a large bowl. Taste the dressing and add additional salt and pepper, if desired. Once the dressing is to your preferred taste, place it in a bowl and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve the salad.

We like to use a charcoal grill to get additional flavor, but you can use a gas grill or indoor griddle if that is your preference. For charcoal grilling, fill a charcoal chimney with charcoal, light it and allow the coals to burn until they are covered in a layer of gray ash, pouring the prepared charcoal into your grill. Alternatively, preheat a gas grill or an indoor griddle to medium-high heat.

While the grill is preheating, brush the onion slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Season the steak with salt and pepper, and spritz with olive oil on top to keep the seasoning in place. 

When the grill is ready, grill the onions until char marks appear, approximately two to three minutes per side. Remove the onions from the grill and transfer to a cutting board.

Place the steak onto the grill and cook until the steak registers 130 F (medium-rare), which should take approximately five minutes per side. Transfer the steak to a cutting board, allowing it to cool slightly.

Using a 6-3/4″ Petite Carver, thinly slice the steak against the grain.

In a large bowl, toss together the arugula and escarole. Place the lettuce mixture onto a large serving platter and top the greens with the grilled onions, avocado, tomatoes, pine nuts, goat cheese and basil. Top this mixture with the sliced steak and drizzle with dressing before serving.

This Grilled Steak Salad is not complex. It has a freshness and simplicity to it that makes it a great summer meal. It satisfies a craving for something light and fresh in the summer, while also giving you a rich and hearty flavor from the grilled steak. You could serve the steak separately from the salad, but we preferred all the flavors together and drizzled with the dressing. The smoky, savory steak played beautifully with the bright, zesty dressing and bitter greens, making this salad crave-worthy! Give it a try and we think you’ll agree.