If you’re looking for that perfect steakhouse salad with crunchy onions, fresh vegetables, and a spicy twist – look no further. Skirt steak is the main feature here, but it tops a salad piled high and gets complimented with a fresh & spicy chimichurri sauce.
STEAK VS. SALAD
This Skirt Steak Salad with Chimichurri solves that craving of needing to go into your favorite steak restaurant for that flavor combination of fresh and char-grilled. Most of the ingredients are pretty simple, but when thrown together it not only looks beautiful but is an explosion of flavor in your mouth!
My husband is usually not very excited when I say we’re eating salad, especially as an entrée for dinner, but let me tell you that this recipe was claimed his favorite salad ever after his third serving. Pretty big deal over here. Especially because he’s usually the one who makes steak for us and he was really impressed with how well this skirt steak came out. I’ve got the exact method I used to give you no-fail skirt steak results for this recipe and any others too. It’s definitely going to become your preferred method of cooking thin steaks inside.
STEAK COOKING METHOD
If you’ve seen my Cast-Iron Seared Steak recipe, you know that I only started liking steak within the past 5 years or so. And I’m a little picky with it still. I really like thin cuts like skirt & flank steak, but for a thicker cut I’m sold on the porterhouse – and maybe a New York strip depending on the day.
My point is because I’m so picky, the flavor and cooking method can absolutely make or break it. If you have a grill this can easily be done on there, but we don’t so this method is all in a cast-iron skillet on the stove. The amazing thing is that since skirt steak is so thin, it only needs about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Which gives it that perfect sear from the extremely hot pan.
SKIRT STEAK SALAD WITH CHIMICHURRI
With assembling the rest of the dinner, there’s the chimichurri sauce – which comes together in your blender, there’s the faux fried onions – which bake in the oven, and then lastly are the vegetables – which only need to be chopped!
It’s a very simple dinner for a weekday if needed, but I think it also makes a beautiful centerpiece for having people over. As I said, you get the char-grilled flavor from the steak, freshness from the vegetables, creaminess from feta, crunch from the onions, and to top it all off – a chimichurri sauce that’s fresh, herby, and a bit spicy.
Skirt Steak Salad with Chimichurri
Ingredients
Chimichurri
- 2 cups parsley
- 1 cup Cilantro
- 3 tbsp Oregano
- 6 garlic cloves
- ½ cup Olive oil
- ½ cup Red wine vinegar
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Pepper
Faux fried onions
- ½ yellow onion sliced
- 2 tbsp Panko
- 2 tbsp Flour
- Salt & pepper
- Olive oil cooking spray
Steak
- 1 pound skirt steak at room temp
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Olive oil drizzle
Salad
- 1 head green lettuce
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 1 cucumber sliced and halved
- ½ cup crumbled feta
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 450
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For the chimichurri sauce: add all the ingredients to your blender and blend on high until consistency is smooth like a dressing. If its too thick, add a bit more vinegar to thin out. If its too thin: add in more greens.
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For the faux fried onions: slice your onion into rings & scatter on a baking sheet lined with foil. Right on top, sprinkle the flour and panko. Toss together a bit to mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spray generously with cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes in the oven.
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While the onions are cooking, pat the skirt steak dry on both sides with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper a bit generously. Rub down both sides with some olive oil. You can cut your steak into more manageable sections to fit in the pan. Heat your cast iron on the stove on high heat. When hot, place skirt steak in the pan to cook for 3 minutes before flipping. Cook for 3 minutes on the other side as well for medium rare. Thicker sections may need a couple extra minutes – but not too much longer! Move the steak to a cutting board to rest for about 10-15 minutes and cover with foil.
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Prep your salad: if you didn’t already, slice your cucumbers and tomatoes. Pile your salad with the green lettuce, vegetables, and crumble feta all over. At this point, you can slice your steak with a serrated knife across the grain of the steak. Lay right on top of the salad, drizzle it with the chimichurri, and scatter the crispy onions all over the salad! Enjoy!
Yum
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