Italian Style Flank Steak & Asparagus

Flank steak is a long and fairly flat cut of meat, but it is also a tough cut of meat.  However, out of all the different types of meat that I cook at home, Flank Steak is one of the easiest - so I love it! There are many different ways to prepare steaks and you can always season them to your liking.  Since I grew up in an Italian family, I like my steaks to take a nice long bath in an Italian marinade! For side dishes, I usually use asparagus (recipe below) and some type of starch, like a baked potato or risotto (recipe to follow soon).  This is a very easy meal to make during the week if you do not have a lot of time, but it will taste as if you spent hours preparing it!

Italian Flank Steak

Ingredients:
-1 Flank Steak
-Italian dressing
-Extra virgin olive oil
-Butter, unsalted
-Salt and pepper to taste


Topping:
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1/4 cup red wine vinegar
-2 tablespoons butter, unsalted
-1 teaspoon dried oregano or 2 tablespoons fresh oregano


Directions:
Marinate the flank steak at least several hours or up to overnight, before cooking.  I use an Italian dressing to marinate the steak, but you can use whatever type of dressing or marinade you prefer.


When ready to cook, preheat your broiler.  Meanwhile, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan.  Remove the Flank steak from it's marinade, season with salt and pepper, and add it to the pan in order to brown the outside of the steak (about 2 minutes on each side).  Make sure to save the marinade.  Depending on the size of your steak you may need to cut it in half so that is will fit in the pan (I just had to cook one piece at a time since the last steak I bought was huge).

Once the outside of the steak has been browned, keep the pan with the oil on, and place the steak(s) back into the marinade dish (make sure it is oven safe, if not, pour the reserved marinade and steaks into an oven safe dish).  Cut up a few pieces of butter and place them on the top of the steak.  Place the dish into the oven and broil for 5-6 minutes on each side.  You do not want to overcook the steak (try and keep it medium-rare to medium) otherwise it will be too tough and chewy.  

Once the steak is done, you can set it aside and prepare the glaze/topping for the steak.  Using the same pan that you used to brown the steak, add the garlic and sauté for about one minute, scraping and mixing in any steak bits that were left over from browning the steak.  Remove from heat and add the butter.  Once the butter has melted, add the red wine vinegar and oregano, and sauté for a few more minutes.  When ready to eat, pour a little of the glaze over the steak. 

Now, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and prepare the asparagus. 

To prep, break off the ends of the asparagus and spread out on a pan.  Drizzle with oil and season well with salt and pepper.  Toss the asparagus to make sure it is all fully coated with the oil and seasoning.  Cook for about 5-10 minutes, or until it is a bright green and tender to the touch of  fork.  

Once the asparagus is done, it is time to cut up the steak! Make sure to slice the steak against the grain (or thin slices at about a 45 degree angle, vertically). Place the slices of steak, asparagus, and whatever type of starch you prefer (such as a potato or risotto) and serve.  Hope you enjoy!

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