Flank Steak with Garlic Spinach

Posted: April 2nd, 2010 | Filed under: Entree, Vegetables | Tags: , , , , , , , , | No Comments »

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Like I mentioned in an earlier post we have been trying to make dinner at home more often on weeknights. And by make dinner I am excluding a box of mac and cheese, a bowl of cereal, or pasta with canned sauce with a little cheese on top. Not that these aren’t dinner. They are. But they don’t invoke a love for cooking in me, they don’t challenge me to try a new cut of meat or hone my skills. So here is a dinner that was made that I was completely delighted and pleased with. It was simple and did not break the bank and helped me build a little more confidence in buying meat again. (Have I explained that irrational fear to you yet? I’m not sure… so here it is. I have no confidence in cooking most meats. Veggies, breads, anything cakes or sugar, side dishes, casseroles, I have no problem making in a moments notice. However, picking a cut of meat (outside of a meat for burgers) I have a little bit of anxiety about. I think its because its more expensive and seems more easily destroyed in my kitchen. Its harder to fix and be okay with making a dry and flavorless steak or pork chop or loin that I spent more than ten dollars on that is now inedible than a bunch of asparagus that was slightly over cooked for four bucks. I think also that when you initially start out a little more nervous about something more likely you are to ruin it. But I’m working on it… don’t worry.)

So a seasoned flank steak and garlic spinach it is. With roasted potatoes (which I cannot ever stop making because I love them so much.) But Ryan loves spinach. Which is weird because it is hard to get him to eat leafy green things or green things in general most of the time. But he really likes spinach, which is A OK with me. And we aren’t talking about the sodium filled lump of green from a can. We are talking fresh baby spinach all nice and wilted with sauted spinach and a dash of red wine vinegar. Fresh and bright and super tender and tasty. And I’m not going to lie. I am proud of this steak. It was well seasoned, flavorful, and perfectly pink on the inside. (We are on the rare side of medium rare kind of people, but hey, you can change that with a little extra time if you so choose.) I made me want to buy flank steak again. And c’mon, I found the steak recipe in Cooking Light… it can’t be that terrible for me right? But seriously, it was delicious, and it made me so happy, and this will be showing up on the rotation again with a few new spins soon.

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Flank Steak

1 lb flank steak, trimmed

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/8 tsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp ground red pepper

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preheat broiler. To prep steak leave it sitting at room temperature for 15min. combined salt and the next 8 ingredients, sprinkle on both sides of the steak. Place steak on broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 6min on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Cover and let rest 5min. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices.

Garlic Spinach

1 tbsp olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 lb fresh stemmed and shredded

1/4 c water

1 tsp red wine vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil and garlic, cook 1 min, stirring constantly. Add spinach and water and cook for 4 min or until tender. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar and remaining ingredients.