Cilantro, Steak, and Veggies I Didn’t Know I Liked
So it’s no secret in my family that I am not a veggie-lover. I was a pretty picky eater as a child, turning my nose up at all sorts of good-for-you vegetables. I am doing better in my grown-up days, but my ventures into cooking veggies have been rather limited. I know what I like, so I stick with that (sweet potatoes, anyone?). But those crazy food bloggers out there have been raving about vegetables in such poetic ways that I think I’ve been entranced.
Whether convinced by Alanna, who cooks a vegetable EVERY DAY, or Stephen, who waxed eloquent about them for nearly the whole month of November, I bought some brussels sprouts at the grocery store on Monday. I already planned to serve roasted squash with the steaks we were having last night, so I thought the addition of some green could hardly hurt. If I ate them, anyway. David was skeptical. Although I don’t have any bad memories of brussels sprouts, he doesn’t like them. Or so he said. So I only bought a few, about a dozen, and decided we’d at least give them a try.
Learning to roast vegetables is one of the things that began to turn around my veggie-hating ways. Ina Garten’s simple, simple method did wonders for my veggie-cooking habits. She says: buy the freshest vegetables, toss them with olive oil and a good bit of Kosher salt and cracked pepper, and roast them at a high heat (400-450) until the outsides are crisp and browned and the insides tender. Most vegetables I enjoy eating these days come in this roasted packaging.
So I found Stephen’s recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Onions, modified it a bit based on what I had in the kitchen, and decided the little sprouts could just go into the oven after the squash had been cooking for an hour or so.
To prepare the squash, I roast two at a time, so I can serve some for dinner as a side dish and have enough leftover for soup later on. I also like to pair butternut and acorn squash, instead of using only one. Acorn squash can tend towards the watery side, and butternut squash is usually fleshier, so for a puree, they complement one another nicely. For flavoring, I like to enhance the squash’s sweetness with dark cane syrup. Cane syrup is a little like unsulphured molasses–dark and thick but without the bitter bite to it (and it’s made right here in Louisiana!). Since basalmic vinegar would go in the glaze for the brussels sprouts, I added a drizzle of it to the squash too, and used the syrup in the sprouts’ glaze in place of the brown sugar. These tricks ensure that if my squash accidentally bumps into the brussels sprouts on my plate, all will end well in my mouth. No cacophonous collisions of flavors that don’t play well together.
The steak recipe is one of my Aunt Cindi’s, from the famed Aunt’s Recipe Book. She uses flank steak, but I couldn’t find any at my grocery, so I used what my butcher labels “finger steaks” instead. I think it’s a sirloin cut, sliced into thick, finger-like portions. The cilantro pesto is quick and light and adds a nice bright flavor to the meat without adding significant fat and calories (like a cream sauce does).
See, I’m trying to be healthier? And guess what? We ate it all. And it even tasted good. The brussles sprouts needed the glaze to go down without a fight, but even David said they tasted good. Who knew?
I’ve written up the recipes in order that you have to cook them–the squash needs about an hour and a half in the oven, brussels sprouts about half an hour, and the steak cooks in under 15 minutes.
Roasted Squash Puree
1 acorn squash
Butter
Cane syrup or molasses
Basalmic vinegar
Kosher salt
Olive oil
Half of a Granny Smith apple, sliced thinly
1/4 of a medium red onion, sliced thinly
1 T. cane syrup or molasses
1 T. basalmic vinegar
1/4 cup red wine
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup red wine
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 of a medium red onion
1/2 t. Kosher salt
Juice of half a lemon
Marinate the steaks in the red wine and garlic for at least a couple of hours. Toss the cilantro, red onion, olive oil, salt, and lemon juice into the food processor or blender and process until smooth. Let the sauce’s flavors meld while the steaks marinate. When ready to cook, heat a tiny bit of olive oil in a heavy skillet over high heat until smoking. Add the steaks, cooking for about a minute per side, just to get a nice, brown crust. Put the whole skillet into the oven to let the steaks finish cooking, about 5 minutes for medium-rare, 7 or 8 for medium. My oven was at 400 degrees roasting the vegetables when I finished the steaks. Serve with a generous topping of the cilantro pesto.
January 11th, 2006 at 11:18 am
Tag - you’re it!
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January 11th, 2006 at 11:30 am
Brussels sprouts rock! I’ll bet they were absolutely succulent with that glaze.
January 11th, 2006 at 6:16 pm
Crazy - we made brussel sprouts last night too, but plain roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper didn’t quite do the trick for me. Whew! I’ll have to give this recipe a try next time.
January 11th, 2006 at 6:44 pm
Wow, that is too funny. I just posted on my site about brussel sprouts and I did almost the same thing as you. Bought 12 (to try) and used Bobby Flay’s recipe and I ended up loving them even though I didn’t think I would. (my brussel sprouts post). I’m impressed that you would try those 2 veggies given the fact that you’re not a big veggie eater.
January 12th, 2006 at 1:00 pm
I love steak. I love cilantro… I can’t believe I’ve never thought of pairing them together before. I’ve done steak with gorgonzola and with basil butter, but this cilantro pesto sounds delicious, not to mention a tad healthier. I can’t wait to try it! Thanks!!!!
January 12th, 2006 at 4:35 pm
Rorie: Thanks for the tag…I’ll work on a meme post for the weekend.
S’kat: Who knew so many people liked brussels sprouts? They have such a bad rep.
Hannah: Yes, DO try the glaze. I’m not sure I would’ve loved the sprouts without it.
Kady: Welcome! I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who’s late to the brussels sprouts fan club!
Adrienne: Let me know how it turns out!
January 14th, 2006 at 6:30 am
Hi Jennifer — What a meal!! And two hoots for trying so many new things all at the same time! I do think that my Mom’s table rules did contribute to my being an adventurous eater. They were “no reading at the table” (would that be the very definition of a culinary bookworm?) and “a little bite of everything, you don’t have to like it, you just have to try it”. And I use the same rule (well the second one) when kids visit my place. Their parents are always amazed at what they’ll eat at my table! Great work!!
January 14th, 2006 at 7:43 pm
Hi Jennifer–I’m with you on not loving veggies. It really is a shame, but I’m trying. I think textures bother me. Anyway, the Brussels sprouts sound really good–thanks for pointing me to the recipe. I just found one with pecans that I want to try too.
January 17th, 2006 at 2:39 pm
Hi Jennifer.
I wanted to let you know that I tried your steak and cilantro pesto only we did a new spin on it! With the new year, I’m “trying” to eat better… or at least fool myself into believing I’m eating better! So, last night I decided I’d shape this into steak salad for dinner and use the cilantro pesto as dressing.
We had a bed of greens, tomatoes, cukes, and then I sliced the steak over the greens and tossed it with the cilantro dressing and s&p. To make the pesto a bit more liquid, we used juice from a whole lemon and about a 1/2 cup of olive oil instead. I know you’re not BIG on veggies, but let me tell you, the cilantro “dressing” was fantastic with the tomatoes and cukes. So light and refreshing. A perfect complement. We can’t wait to have it again! THANKS SO MUCH!
January 17th, 2006 at 3:16 pm
Adrienne, What a great idea! Thanks for sharing–the cilantro vinaigrette sounds fabulous. And if ever there were two vegetables I like, they are tomatoes and cucumber. I will definitely have to try this.
Alanna, Even the culinary bookworm doesn’t read at the dinner table! And, I think your mom’s rules sound great.
Lisa, The texture is the kicker for me for sure with vegetables. Mushy and slimy are words that come to mind.
November 11th, 2006 at 12:01 pm
[…] Your favorite pizza dough or shell Half of a large butternut squash, cooked and mashed (I cook it like this) Olive oil One or two links Italian sausage, sliced and cooked Blue cheese, amount to taste 1 ripe pear (I used an Asian one and it was delicious), thinly sliced A couple of handfuls of arugula leaves, washed and roughly chopped or torn […]