Grilled Beef Salad with Bloody Mary Vinaigrette
By David Harbilas
I know I’m not the first person to think of this, but using the same ingredients in a bloody mary for a vinaigrette dressing is an exciting way to “create” something.
While one could easily use the exact ingredients, right down to the tomato juice, the best results come from using ripe, juicy tomatoes, as they have a complexity that bottled juice lacks.
This is essentially a spicy tomato vinaigrette, and it can be used with fish, beef, chicken, or pork.
Serves 2
- 1 flank steak, about 8 ounces
- 1 head of bibb lettuce, or some other tender-leafed green lettuce
- 2 juicy red tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
- zest of ½ lemon
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire
- Tabasco, to taste
- 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Cut an X into the bottoms of the tomatoes and drop into the water for 30 seconds. Immediately plunge the tomatoes into an ice bath. Peel the tomatoes, cut in half cross-wise and squeeze the seeds from the centers. Roughly chop the tomatoes, cutting out the woody core, and place into a blender. Add the horseradish, lemon zest, Worcestershire, Tabasco and red wine vinegar. With the motor running, add the olive oil to emulsify.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Prepare a grill over high heat. Rub the steak with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Grill 2-3 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove the steak and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Toss the lettuce with a little of the vinaigrette and place onto two plates. Carve the steak and top the salad with the steak, drizzling some more vinaigrette on the meat.
