Steak with Chimichurri, Seattle Salad and Cauliflower Au Gratin

When you want to pull out all the stops, but not spend all day in the kitchen, this is the perfect menu for you.

Most of the menu can be made ahead of time: the chimichurri, salad dressing and you can even prep the cauliflower early in the day.

Then all you need to do is fire up the grill, toss the salad, bake the cauliflower and pour yourself a cocktail. Your friends will think you worked all day when you actually had time to ____________ (insert your favorite activity). I promise to keep this secret just between us.

Ingredients

2 pounds of either flank steak, rib eye or strip steak
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup lightly packed chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
3 to 5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves (or 1-2 teaspoons dried oregano)
2 tablespoons minced shallot
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar or red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 jalapeño, seeds and pith removed

Instructions

Preheat a grill.
Place all chimichurri sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until well chopped, but not pureed. Set aside.
Season steak with generously with kosher salt. And if you're really wanting extra juicy steak, season the steak the day before, or at least a couple of hours before cooking it. The salt tenderizes the meat and breaks down the fibers which makes for an extra flavorful and tender steak.
Be sure to take out your steak at least 3 hours before cooking it to allow to come to room temperature. When you put a cold steak on a hot grill or hot pan you get steamed steak. You want to get that gorgeous char (char = flavor) which only comes from steaks that are room temp.
Place the steak directly over a hot grill, and grill until of the meat reaches the desired degree of doneness.
I like to use a meat thermometer to check the temperature, and tend to cook my meat to medium-rare.
Remove the steak from the grill and slice long strips from the outer edges of the steak.
Spoon chimichurri sauce over steak.
You can grill the steak earlier and serve it at room temperature.

Have you made this recipe?I'd love to know! Leave a comment or recipe rating and tag me @amenuforyou on social media!

Steak with Chimichurri, Seattle Salad and Cauliflower Au Gratin