Accounting for Taste

This main course Grilled Steak Salad with Pineapple-Ginger Dressing has it all: tender greens, crisp peppery radishes, sweet succulent pineapple, beefy steak, and a bright, fresh dressing that packs a bit of heat, too. What a perfect choice for a warm summer evening dining al fresco. And to satisfy any vegetarians, just swap out the steak for grilled portobello mushrooms.

For a great time-saver, look for peeled and cut fresh pineapple in the produce section of your supermarket. I bought a whole pineapple so that I could slice it down and have a lot extra for morning fruit smoothies. Those small 6-ounce cans of pineapple juice are almost perfect—just suck down that last ounce.

Another step-saver? To avoid having to scoop out the cucumber seeds, buy a seedless variety. For just the two of us, one head of Bibb lettuce and all of the rest of the ingredients made two good-sized salads with some dressing and steak leftover. So keep that in mind if intending to feed more diners…

Grilled Steak Salad with Pineapple-Ginger Dressing

Servings: 3-4
Time: 30 min includes prep
Difficulty: easy
Print

Ingredients

For the dressing:

5 Tbs. pineapple juice
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. peanut oil
1 Tbs. Asian sesame oil
2 tsp. fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp. honey
1/2 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger
1 small clove garlic, minced
Large pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup small-diced fresh pineapple
1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh cilantro

For the steak:

1 lb. flank steak
1-1/2 Tbs. vegetable oil; more for the grill
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the salad:

6 oz. torn butter lettuce (use 2 heads for 4 people)
1 medium cucumber, seeded and thinly sliced
3 radishes, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallion (both white and light-green parts)

Directions

Heat a gas grill to medium high.

Make the dressing:

In a small bowl, whisk the pineapple juice, soy sauce, peanut oil, sesame oil, lime juice, honey, ginger, garlic, and pepper flakes to blend. Stir in the pineapple and cilantro.

Cook the steak:

Rub the steak with the oil and season with 1 tsp. each salt and pepper. Clean and oil the grill grates. Grill the steak, covered, until it has nice grill marks on one side, 5 to 6 minutes. Flip and reduce the heat to medium.
Cook, covered, until done to your liking, an additional 4 to 5 minutes for medium rare. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

Assemble the salad:

In a large bowl, toss the lettuce, cucumber, and radishes with about half of the dressing. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide among 2-4 large plates.
Thinly slice the steak at an angle across the grain and drape it over the greens.
Drizzle some of the remaining dressing over the beef, sprinkle with the scallions, and serve.