salad for dinner, part 1
steak and arugula salad with pickled peppers and blue cheese
After a long winter of soups and stews (those are two of my favorite foods, so I’m not complaining!) the first blast of warm weather always gets me in the mood for something a little lighter and brighter.
As a welcome to spring, I thought it would be fun to do a little series on salads - the kind that are substantial hearty and exciting enough to eat for dinner. In my book, there are a couple requirements for a dinner salad. It has to 1) have some kind of protein- meat, fish, chickpeas, lentils, etc. - 2) have lots of different textures in each bite and 3) not require a ton of time or dishes to prepare. To me, a dinner salad should always be weeknight friendly.
I’m starting the series with steak salad - the queen of dinner salads. A steak salad can take some serious flavor, and with peppery arugula, marinated onions, tangy blue cheese, and vinegary pickled peppers, this one delivers and then some. The roasted almonds add crunch and the avocado’s mild, creamy texture is the perfect balance to all the more intense flavors going on here.
I made this salad for dinner earlier this week to take some photos of it, and I was truly disappointed when it was over. To me, that is the measure of a good dinner.
Skirt steak is my go-to cut for a salad: it takes well to any number of marinades, cooks quickly, and is great sliced super thinly. That said, you can sub any steak you like. If you’re using a fattier steak like a rib-eye or NY strip, skip the marinade, season simply with salt and pepper, and remember that cook times will vary!
I hope you decide to give this salad a try. If you do, give me a shout in the comments below, and let me know what your favorite dinner salads are!
In other fun news, episode 2 of In The Test Kitchen dropped today on Netflix! This episode is all about burgers, and let me tell you, I am still thinking about that smash burger….
Watch the episode on Netflix, or listen to the audio version on Spotify and Apple podcasts. If you enjoy it, I hope you’ll give it a thumbs up!!
xoxo
Lidey
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Steak and Arugula Salad with Pickled Peppers and Blue Cheese
serves 4
