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One skill that I am trying to improve upon is being creative with left-overs. In other words, entertaining my palate unexpectedly with recipes and dishes that it wouldn’t expect without having to run to the market multiple times during the week.
Last week, I picked up a loaf of whole wheat bread from a local bakery to make a grilled cheese sandwich, and as is usually the case, I had quite a bit left over when I had devoured the grilled cheese I craved during one of the many snowstorms we had. What to do with the rest of the loaf?
In my kitchen I have a corkboard where I pin recipes and ideas that I want to try in the kitchen that are pulled from my favorite cooking magazines and the newspaper. I have had on my corkboard a recipe from Bon Appétit magazine years ago and have yet to try, and so with the additional slices of bread waiting to be used, I thought to myself, what better time to give it a try. After looking at the recipe, I had most of the ingredients in the house and just needed to pick up a red onion and steak.
In a matter of 25 minutes (15 minutes given to the steak to rest), the open faced sandwich was ready to devour. And the beauty of the recipe is that you don’t even need the loaf of bread. If you want to eliminate the bread and just have a steak salad, you will be equally delighted.
Pair with a full table red wine and enjoy for lunch for a light dinner. The dressing alone is something to use on any other salad. Enjoy!
Open Faced Steak Salad Sandwich
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb . tri tip steak (new york strip or flank steak would work as well)
- kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 Tbsp . vegetable oil
- 1/2 small red onion , thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup whole grain mustard , Maille is my favorite brand
- 3 Tbsp . fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup olive oil , pulls more of the bread
- 1 1/2 oz . Parmesan , finely grated
- 1 loaf of bread (crusty artisan bread: whole wheat, ciabatta, your choice)
- 6 cups arugula or spinach leaves , chopped to be bite size
Instructions
- Heat a dry, large skillet (I don't have a cast iron, but that would be preferred) over medium-high heat
- Season steak with salt and better, then rub with vegetable oil entirely. Cook steak, turning once or twice to brown evenly, until medium-rare and slightly charred, 8-10 minutes. Transfer steak to a cutting board and leet rest at least 15 minutes. Reserve the skillet.
- Chop the red onion and place slices in a bowl of cold water. Set aside.
- Mix your vinaigrette: blend mustard and lemon juice with a fork in a small bowl. Then slowly pour in the olive oil, mixing as you pour to emulsify the liquid. Then gradually add the Parmesan. Add 1 Tbsp of cold water (if needed - taste first). Then continue to mix until smith and thick. You can do this all in a blender if preferred.
- In the skillet that was reserved, turn the heat to medium. Drizzle cut length-wise slices of your bread with olive oil and place in the pan, cut side down. Cook until golden brown and crisp, about five minutes each.
Putting together your sandwiches:
- Place bread, cut side up, on a platter and drizzle with a third of the dressing.
- Top with arugula.
- Drain the red onion slices and scatter over arugula.
- Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with half of the remaining dressing.
- Thinly slice the steak on the bias, cutting against the grain. Arrange over dressed arugula.
- Drizzle with remaining dressing, season with more salt, then cut sandwiches crosswise into pieces or serve each large slice as one serving.
~View more TSLL Salads & Sandwiches here.
sounds delicious!!! I have done a very similar recipe without the steak but with asparagus. Also quite delicious! With the asparagus salad I use thickly shaved fresh parmesan as garnish.
p.s. Always use the best mustard! Maille!
p.s 2 Love the site, the thoughts, the style
Thank you for stopping by and for sharing a different twist. 🙂
Thank you Shannon for the lovely recipe and to reader Cynthia van Es for a second lovely idea!