If you love these flavors, this should instantly connect in your head. If you are not familiar with these flavors, together, then great excuse to make this salad and completely fall in love with it. I have been on such a goat cheese kick lately, just had to figure out a recipe to work around. Almost, contemplated making a ravioli but thats for another day!
As for the vinaigrette, oh my it was to die for. It has been adapted from this beautiful blog http://iowagirleats.com/2014/01/27/steak-salad-with-crispy-shallots-dried-cherries-candied-pecans-and-goat-cheese/. The only variation I made was substitute honey with oyster sauce giving it a more south east asian flavor, which I absolutely love. But go with the flavor profile you enjoy and have fun with it. Oh and I also did add a bit of sambal olek chili paste to it. Spiced it up just enough to make it delectable. Yummm. Safe to say we licked it clean.
Hope you enjoy the salad. I am just starting to get a whole week of salads ready and I’ll post some snapshots on here. Some amazing blogs out there to see a step by step salad prepping process for a week, if you are interested. In the meantime, please stuff your face with some goat cheese. I know I did.
Ingredients:
Serves 2
Salad:
1 medium yellow onion or red onion(if you want it sweeter)
1 NY strip steak
0.5 cup tricolored Quinoa
1 cup mushrooms (any kind you like. I used baby bella)
1/4 cup almonds (toasted lightly in olive oil)
1/3 cup goat cheese crumbled
Spinach/arugula/and other greens to portion preference
Few leaves of Basil for freshness
Vinaigrette(modified):
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons lime juice (about 1/2 lime)
1 Tablespoon soy sauce or gluten-free Tamari
1 garlic clove, microplaned or finely minced (I used finely minced)
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, microplaned or finely minced (I used finely minced)
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce (The original recipe used honey)
1/2 tablespoon sambal olek chili paste (to taste)
Salad Assembly:
1. Wash the quinoa thoroughly to wash away the Saponin (bitter chemical that coats the seed). Toast without oil on a hot pan for 1 minute. Then add 1 cup of chicken broth and bring to a vigorous boil. Once its boiling, turn the heat to the lowest setting and cover the pan and let it cook for 15 mins or until all liquid has evaporated. If you want more flavor, add shavings of parmesan and some basil.
2. While the Quinoa is finishing up, go ahead and slice the onion thin and uniform. You want them to cook evenly and brown evenly. Add about 1/2 tablespoon oil and caramelize them. Do not go overboard with the color as it can get bitter if burnt. Stay on safer side and taste as you go.
3. Once the onions are cooked, sauté the almonds on the same pan, followed by the mushrooms. As the mushrooms are cooking, lets go ahead and get the vinaigrette ready. Just mix all the ingredients and blend it all with a whisk. Let it sit for the remaining duration while you now prep your steak.
4. Last and final step, get your steak on the pan. I had an inch thick NY strip and it cooked fast. Just salt and pepper on the steak. Add about a tablespoon of oil, few cloves of garlic and rosemary (fresh springs or dried/optional) to the pan and cook the steak about 3 minutes per side for a medium rare. Of course, let it rest, no matter how quickly you might want to devour it. 😉 Once it has rested for about 5 minutes, cut into strips or cubes.
Once all the prep is done, assemble, and drizzle and add the goat cheese and have a fantastic dinner. If you never liked salads, well be ready to change your mind!
Bon Apetit!
Out of my comfort zone 