This steak panzanella salad recipe embodies the flavors of summer with avocados, tomatoes, garlic and basil. The dressing is a medley of lemon, red wine vinegar, olive oil and basil that gets tossed in with spinach, cucumber and sourdough croutons.
Hiya friends! The weather is warming up, lawns are being mowed and people are firing up their grills. I've always felt a little intimated by the grill, mainly by the fact that propane scares me becaue I always think I'm going to blow up. But now that I have a basic understand of how not to do that, I feel more confident. So this week I give you… Steak Panzanella Salad!
I know that I've said no to red meat in the past. This is true, however sometimes I let flank steak and filets slide because well, they're good and my husband likes them.
Why a Panzanella Salad with Steak?
A Panzanella salad recipe is traditionally made with stale bread and tomatoes. It generally has basil, olive oil, vinegar and end of summer vegetables. I paired it with steak because it's a great match for grilling out in the summer. When comparing other types of protein, steak just tasted the best.
Ingredients
Baby spinach or arugula: I would recommend baby spinach over regular spinach in this recipe just because the smaller leaves are easier to mix and they're coated better by the dressing that way. Arugula would also be a great option, both provide fat-soluble vitamins (A,E,K) and provide anti-inflammatory benefits.
Tomatoes & cucumber: Is it even a summer salad without these two vegetables? I prefer English cucumbers, but if you only have regular that's fine too.
Flank Steak: I prefer flank. It's a leaner cut, which means less saturated fat and cholesterol than others. In an article published by the AHA , the importance of checking your cholestrol levels for all individuals is emphasized. This study also shows that grass-fed beef contains less cholesterol and have a higher antioxidant content than conventionally fed beef.
SOURDOUGH CROUTONS: How could I forget about these little gems? Perhaps one of the best markers of a true panzanella salad. I used sourdough bread, but ciabatta would be a good option too. One thing to note that if your bread is stale, it will cook faster. I learned this the hard way 🙁
How to make Steak Panzanella Salad
In a large bowl add the garlic cloves, olive oil, red wine vinegar and lemon. Then chop the basil and add in the quartered tomatoes. Let this marry for awhile as you chop up the rest of the ingredients.
For the flank steak, you will want to marinate it for 30 minutes or longer. I used a simple & quick marinade of things I had in my cabinet. I adapted the recipe to this...
- Drizzle of olive oil, about a quarter cup
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
- Quarter cup red wine vinegar
- ½ of lemon, juiced
- 1 tbsp of dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire
- ½ tsp black pepper
Of course you could always leave off the steak and make this a meatless meal. Just make sure you get every drop of the dressing at the bottom of the bowl 🙂
Hope you guys love this steak panzanella salad recipe as much as I do!
PrintSteak Panzanella Salad Recipe
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This Steak Panzanella Salad recipe embodies the flavors of summer with avocados, tomatoes, garlic and basil. The dressing is a medley of lemon, red wine vinegar, olive oil and basil that gets tossed in with spinach, cucumber and sourdough croutons.
Ingredients
Sourdough Croutons
- Sourdough or Ciabatta bread, pulled apart or cut into bite size pieces
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Option to sprinkle of parmesan on top for extra deliciousness
Steak Marinade
- 1 pound of flank steak
- ¼ cup EVOO
- ¼ Low sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire
- ½ tsp black pepper
Panzanella Salad
- 1 pint of tomatoes, quartered
- 1 english cucumber, quartered
- 8 oz baby spinach or arugula
- 1 avocado, diced
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese, shaved
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 2 tbsp EVOO
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- ½ lemon, juiced
- ¼ cup basil, chopped
Instructions
- Make marinade and marinate the steak, set aside for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375 and begin to make the croutons. Place cut up bread pieces on a sheet pan, drizzle with EVOO, garlic powder and salt/pepper to taste.
- When oven is done preheating, cook croutons for 15 minutes. The croutons will be done when they begin to turn a golden brown color and should crunch when tapped with a spatula.
- In a large bowl combine the garlic, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon and basil. Whisk to combine and add in cherry tomatoes to merry the flavors while the steak cooks.
- Grill steak for 6-8 minutes on each side or cook until desired temperature.
- Add the cucumber, croutons, spinach and parmesan cheese to the large bowl with the tomatoes. Lightly toss to coat. Top with diced avocado and serve with steak.
- Top with additional basil, parmesan cheese and croutons as you wish! Enjoy!
Notes
Croutons: If the bread is stale or if the sheet pan your cooking on is dark, the bread will cook faster.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 25
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Grilling
- Cuisine: Italian
Leave a Reply