Skirt Steak with Parsley Garlic Sauce: Everyday Food Goes to Argentina

Steak on the weekend. There is something just right about it, and this week I was craving it. So for Day 4 of the Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast cook-off, we went for Flank Steak with Parsley-Garlic Sauce (click link for recipe), aka Argentinian chimichurri sauce.

Chimichurri sauce

If you haven’t tried chimichurri over steak, I highly recommend it. It’s a tangy green sauce, made of minced parsley, garlic, white wine or sherry vinegar, olive oil, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Very simple to prepare, especially if you have a mini cuisinart, but a good mince of the ingredients works fine as well. The flavors are bright and fresh and complement the steak, especially when grilled.

Alas, I did not uncover the grill for this endeavor. Instead, I whipped out the big grill pan:

Kitchen Essentials Double Grill Pan, $49.99 @ Target

and got ready to cook.

We eat flank steak about once a week, but this week, we thought we’d try skirt steak instead. After trimming the meat a little (not too much; you want that fat to flavor it), I liberally seasoned it on both sides with salt and pepper. I oiled the grill pan and turned up the burners to medium high. Skirt steak is so thin it took alot less time to cook then flank. Five minutes each side over medium/medium-high heat and it had a nice sear on it, but was still good and pink in the middle.

Once cooked to your preference, you take it off the heat, let it rest, tented (not completely covered), and then serve with the chimichurri in a bowl on the side.  Grilled vegetables would be a nice accompaniment, or a simple salad (we did our salad with a little goat cheese, which was perfect).  Voilà!

The finished product

Try it for a delicious weekday or weekend meal. It’s simple to prepare, and a nice update of plain grilled steak. Definitely a winner.

Related Posts:

Everyday Food: Chicken with Tomatoes, Olives and Cilantro

Pasta Puttanesca for Hot Mamas

Steamed Cod with Ginger and Scallion/Breaded Fish Sticks for the kiddos

Everyday Food: Chicken with Tomatoes, Olives and Cilantro Comes to the Table

Day 3 of the Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast cook-off. BTW I keep wanting to call the cookbook Fast Fresh Flavor or Flavor Fast & Fresh. Anyhoo.

$15 at BN.com

This time, we tried Chicken with Tomatoes, Olives and Cilantro, the cover recipe for the book (detailed on p.138). I chose it because it looked like something we’d enjoy (being suckers for anything remotely Mediterranean).

What doesn't look good about this?

You need boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 per serving). After seasoning the chicken with salt & pepper, you cook it over medium heat until it is browned and just cooked through. The cookbook says 10-15 minutes; I think it depends on the size of the breasts. Mine never cook in the time a cookbook says they will. When the breasts are cooked, take them off the heat and put them on a plate, tented loosely with foil. Don’t do what I did and tightly cover with foil or they will overcook!

Kick the heat on your skillet up a notch, and throw in onions, thinly sliced, cooking until they are softened. Add halved cherry tomatoes and pitted green olives to taste and cook until the tomatoes start to release their juices (i.e. not long). Remove from heat, stir in fresh squeezed lime juice and cilantro to taste, correct seasoning and serve the chicken with the tomato mix over it.

Prep time: about 15 mins, 20 if you have small children asking you questions throughout.

The finished product

Verdict: Terrific! I loved this dish, even though I overcooked the chicken. The flavors of the onions, tomatoes and olives were right down our alley, and the house smelled delicious. This is a great dish for company; it’s easy to prepare and pretty to serve. Speaking of…we served it over rice and with a side of sauteed spinach.

Related Posts:

Pasta Puttanesca for Hot Mamas

Everyday Food: Family Friendly Recipes

Kid-Friendly Cornflake Chicken

Pasta Puttanesca for Hot Mamas and the People They Love

Day 2 of the Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast cook-off in Brooklyn.

Full disclosure: I meant to make a delicious sounding chicken dish with olives, tomatoes & cilantro. Monday ended up being pretty draining, and we forgot to thaw the chicken breasts, so I moved on to Spaghetti Puttanesca, figuring it was the path of least resistance.

As I mentioned yesterday, this used to be a staple in the dinner rotation, but fell from grace for reasons that I do not know.  Well, let’s just say, it made a big comeback last night.

Really, what can be easier? For two: 14 oz can of whole tomatoes, chopped olives, minced garlic, capers (anchovies or anchovy paste if you like) and red pepper flakes to taste. All cooked in olive oil, mashing up those tomatoes as you go to give them a nice rustic look.  Salt & pepper to taste. Served over pasta.

Hot and spicy.

Full of flavor, and completely satisfying. A simple salad or a Caesar on the side.

If I was serving the kids I’d tone done the red pepper flakes, but that’s about it.

Another winner! Now on to the Chicken with Tomatoes, Olives & Cilantro tonight. Melisa is chopping the garlic, and I’m getting ready to pour the wine.

Everyday Food: Family-Friendly Recipes from the New Cookbook

I’m a big fan of Everyday Food — the magazine and the original cookbook. So I was excited to see their new cookbook: Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast.

$15 at BN.com

I decided to have my own “Julie & Julia” moment, cooking dinner from the new cookbook five days this week. I’m looking for 1) quick cooking meals 2) with not too many ingredients 3) that are delicious 4) and spice up the weekly repertoire.

Last night was day one. It was a double-header. First up, for the kids, was homemade fish sticks inspired by “Panko-Crusted Fish Sticks with Herb Dipping Sauce,” p. 233. I say “inspired by” because we subbed plain breadcrumbs we had on hand for the panko (Japanese bread crumbs), and skipped the herb dipping sauce for ketchup.

This recipe was a breeze to prepare. A variation on the cornflake chicken recipe, really. Tilapia fillets, cut into strips, dipped in beaten egg, and dragged through breadcrumbs seasoned with salt & pepper. Bake at 475 for 12-15 and you got it. Easy as pie. The taste test results: Jasper chowed through it. Magnolia was skeptical, but then she wasn’t feeling well, so I’m not counting her reaction. I had a couple and they were great, a million times better than anything store bought. Next time maybe we’ll try the Old Bay seasoning, panko and dipping sauce, too.

A good addition to the kid’s dinner rotation.

Next up, “Steamed Cod with Ginger and Scallion,“ p. 246 for the adults (I’m not quite at Gastrokid level yet).  Needed: cod fillets (1 per person- 1 1/2 lbs for 4), Japanese Rice Wine Vinegar (available in the Asian section of supermarkets and keeps forever), soy sauce, grated ginger (I’d say to taste, but it’s so good, and good for you, go for it), salt & pepper to season the fish, scallions, sliced in 3 inch pieces and then thinly sliced, whites discarded.

The recipe calls for 3 TBSP of Rice Wine Vinegar and 2 TBSP of soy sauce, plus 2 TBSP of ginger to serve four. I started by cutting the recipe in half for two but decided I wanted more sauce- probably NEEDED more sauce (the saucier the better, for us)- to steam the fish, so I did the whole thing. Again, ginger to taste. Put these 3 ingredients in a pan that has a tight fitting lid, and turn on heat. Season the cod on both sides with salt and pepper to taste, and put it into the pan. Bring sauce to boil, cover, reduce heat and let simmer for 6-8 minutes. Then throw the scallions on top, cover again, and simmer another 2 minutes or until fish is opaque.

Yum. (photo: EverydayFood.com)

The verdict: I would absolutely make this again; it turned out better than I had expected! I thought the flavors were sublime; the cod was cooked perfectly and sauce provided a tasty accompaniment. The prep was simple and quick, and the dish was easy to prepare.

I served the fish with white rice, tossed with the zest and juice of one lime, and a carrot side-dish I found in the cookbook, “Shaved Carrot Salad with Scallions and Sesame Seeds.” The rice was a great match for the fish, and I loved the salad, but Melisa gave it a lower mark because it was a cold salad.

All in all a night of success!

Next up: a favorite standby that fell out of regular rotation years ago: Pasta Puttanesca. It may be ready for a comeback. More tomorrow!