Blackened Steak Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Yogurt Sauce
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 2
Fair warning, this dish should be grilled outside if you don’t have a good stove vent. I promise it tastes really good if you can withstand the blast of billowing, peppery smoke from the spice rub. I usually make Chimichurri sauce with fresh herbs and serve it alongside steak but never considered it as a marinade or rub until now. I brought back a packet of dry Chimichurri spices from my trip to Spain in the summer of 2019 and Lee decided to experiment with it. We added a side of yogurt sauce to cut the spice but it turned out to have less heat than we expected. You can skip the yogurt if you feel inclined but I think it made the salad even better.
Ingredients
2 cups cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided,
plus ¼ cup olive oil for dressingcoarse, kosher salt
12 ounces filet mignon (2 medallions)
3 tablespoons Chimichurri spice rub (to make your own, see below)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ shallot, diced
½ red bell pepper, julienned
6 cups mixed greens (we used butter lettuce and arugula)
½ cup yogurt
¼ cup cucumber, peeled, very finely chopped
juice from half a lemon
fresh Parmesan cheese, shaved, for serving
Spice Rub Ingredients
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried thyme
Preparation
Heat oven to 425° degrees F.
Arrange cherry tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 20-25 minutes.
Spread Chimichurri spice mixture on a large plate.
Melt butter in a pan over low heat, taking care not to let it simmer or cook. Remove from heat.
Rub steaks with olive oil and sprinkle generously with coarse, kosher salt. Roll each steak in the Chimichurri spice mixture, coating each side, and then dip each side in melted butter.
Place a cast-iron skillet on high heat until smoking. Add steaks to skillet and cook for 2 minutes on each side for medium-rare. *Warning* There will be a lot of peppery smoke!
Remove steaks from heat and transfer to a cutting board, let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine ¼ cup of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, and shallot, and stir to combine. Add red peppers, mixed greens, and roasted tomatoes and toss to coat.
In a small bowl combine yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine.
To Serve
Cut steak against the grain.
On two large plates, arrange the tossed mix of greens, peppers, and tomatoes. Fan sliced steak over top and garnish with shaved parmesan cheese. Serve with yogurt sauce on the side.
