in the April issue of Glamour magazine. First, an interview and very nice pic of Justin Bieber. Hey, he’s 22 now…it’s not creepy that I’m so into him, right?
The other thing that caught my eye was a recipe, because it looked and sounded like it would fit my happy, healthy and hot criteria: has to taste great, be easy, and packed with healthy ingredients. Oh yeah, it also has to be grain and dairy free. A pretty tall order.
The recipe was for grilled skirt steak with chimichurri. What’s chimichurri , you ask? It’s a South American sauce made from fresh herbs and olive oil that’s used on meats and veggies.
As usual, I took some shortcuts and didn’t really measure anything. Here is my even faster and easier version of the recipe:
First, gather the following ingredients:
Fresh parsley and cilantro (about a handful of each)
A fresh lemon
Fresh arugula (one of the small clamshell packages will be more than enough)
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper (I use pink himalayan salt and organic pepper)
Grass-fed steak, approximately one pound. (I could not find a grass-fed skirt steak to save my life, so I grabbed a NY Strip.)
First, make the sauce. Throw your parsley, cilantro, and olive oil in the blender. Add a generous squeeze of lemon juice (about half the lemon) and some salt and pepper. The olive oil was the only thing I actually measured. Process until you have a smooth sauce. The sauce is amazing if you like parsley and cilantro, and it is a gorgeous shade of green!
Sauce in my Vitamix…so pretty and green!
Next, rub a little olive oil into the steak on both sides, and salt and pepper it. Heat a grill pan or large skillet on medium high heat, then toss on the steak. (You could do this on an outdoor grill too…even better, I’m sure!)
While you are cooking the steak to your liking, put a big handful of arugula on each plate. The recipe says it serves two. It’s a whole pound of meat…more like 3 to 4 servings I think! Depends on how hungry you are.
When the steak is done, slice it thinly and place on top of your plated arugula. Then drizzle with the chimichurri sauce…I just poured right from the blender. You will have sauce left over…and it’s delicious!
You can make the sauce ahead of time and store in a jar in the fridge.
So that’s my version…I left a few things out, like the red wine vinegar in the sauce. The lemon juice gave just enough acidity for me. And I also omitted the two cloves of garlic for the sauce, and the onions that you could grill along with the steak. Because I don’t want to stink. The recipe called for dressing the arugula with some olive oil and lemon. I skipped that and just used plenty of the sauce.
See, you can always improvise in the kitchen. And you can make tasty food really quickly!
So besides being easy and delicious, this meal is packed with great stuff. Cilantro and parsley are natural detoxifiers. Both are particularly good for removing heavy metals from the body. Read this post for more info: I’m not into heavy metal.
And arugula is awesome too! It provides vitamins A, C and K, as well as tons of minerals. The olive oil is a great source of healthy fat that your body needs to absorb the nutrients from all these leafy greens. But remember to buy a good olive oil. Read my post Has your olive oil lost its virginity? to find out some decent brands that are readily available.
The steak is a good protein source, of course. If it is grass-fed, it also has higher levels of omega 3 fatty acids, which are essential for so many things, including the health of our brains! It is also higher in conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, which may help protect against cancer. Grass-fed beef is free of the antibiotics that are given to factory farmed animals that are kept in close quarters.
So, can steak with chimichurri sauce help you feel happy, healthy and hot? Well, it would be even better if Justin came over to share it with me! If you like fresh, herbal flavors this recipe will make you happy too because it is so tasty and quick. The ingredients are full of nutrients that support your overall health. And we know the protein in the steak is supporting your muscles, and the vitamin C from all the leafy greens is awesome for your skin. So you’ll be very hot! Thanks for reading!
Justin Bieber … my daughter and my wife think he’s cute LOL … what a knucklehead but hey he’s young and fame like that must be hard to handle at such a young age. Did you see the Comedy Channel Justin Bieber roast by any chance? It was hilarious.
Looks like a great recipe, although as a reformed vegetarian can’t bring myself to eat beef yet. Thanks for the heads up on the cilantro and parsley detox properties Elizabeth.
So I can understand skipping the garlic (don’t want it oozing out of my pores either, I take an odor free supplement once or twice a week) but are onions really that bad? They are pretty beneficial, but as a guy I’m probably not as in tune to the “hygiene” drawbacks as is the fairer gender.
Hey George…sad to say I missed the JB roast! As far as the onions and garlic, I do use onions, but do much better if they are cooked longer than the original recipe called for. There are definitely some benefits to onions and garlic! And funny, I was a vegetarian for many years (30+) but have no problem with steak. It’s chicken that makes me a little squeamish! I do eat it but don’t enjoy cooking it.
Thanks for the inspiration for dinner last night. I made a version of chimichurri sauce for fish. Now this sauce will be my alternate pesto.
Great to hear from you Becky and so glad you liked it. Yes, it’s definitely similar to pesto. And great on fish or probably just about anything. I am planning to make more today!