Grilled Steak and Vegetable Salad with Chipotle Chimichurri Dressing

  

Ever since the discovery of chimichurri sauce at PW Pizza (which I then recreated here), I'm like a moth to the flame whenever I see it mentioned somewhere. I was looking for a recipe to make for my sister's birthday dinner last month and as soon as I saw the title of this one on myrecipes.com, my decision was made for me. 

The chimichurri dressing takes nothing more than a quick whiz in the food processor and while I took care of this and chopping up some romaine, Ryan manned the grill. Although we made it all the night we served it, you could easily grill the vegetables and steak a day ahead of time as well as make the dressing. Refrigerate the different elements separately and then assemble the salads just before eating.

This was by far one of my favorite main dish salads, and even though we ate it in the middle of February, it's really a perfect Spring or Summer meal. The chimichurri was the hit of the salad and I think Ryan just about licked his plate of every remaining splash of it. I recommend serving it with cheese quesadillas, like we did.

One Year Ago: Sesame Soy Spaghetti Squash with Chicken, Veggies, and Edamame
Two Years Ago: Pumpkin Penne
Three Years Ago: Chocolate Oatmeal Almost Candy Bars

Grilled Steak and Vegetable Salad with Chipotle Chimichurri Dressing
from Sunset Magazine, September 2012

Ingredients:
for the dressing-
-1 1/4 cups loosely packed flat-leaf parsley sprigs
-1 1/4 cups loosely packed cilantro sprigs
-2 garlic cloves
-1 jalapeño chile, seeded
-1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
-1/3 cup vegetable oil
-1/3 cup lime juice
-1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
-2 medium canned chipotle chiles, finely chopped

for the salad-
-1 flank steak (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lbs)
-3 zucchini, sliced lengthwise 1/4 inch thick
-1 tbsp olive oil
-about 1 tsp kosher salt
-about 1 tsp pepper
-2 medium red bell peppers
-2 heads romain lettuce, cut crosswise into 1-inch ribbons
-1 firm-ripe avocado, sliced
-6 radishes, thinly sliced

Directions:
1. To make the dressing, combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor with the exception of the chipotle chiles. Pulse until minced. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in chipotles.
2. Rub steak and zucchini with oil, then sprinkle with 1 tsp each salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes while grill preheats on high.
3. Grill steak, turning once, 6-8 minutes for medium rare or a few minutes longer for medium. Transfer to a board and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, grill zucchini and bell peppers, turning occasionally, until grill marks appear on zucchini.
4. Allow peppers and zucchini to cool slightly before slicing. Slice steak diagonally across the grain into thin strips, then cut pieces in half.
5. Divide lettuce among plates. Top with zucchini, peppers, radishes, and steak. Drizzle with chimichurri.