Since we’re in the middle of summer and I’ve lived in my new house for about 6 weeks now, it’s high time I shared a little bit of my backyard with you. We’ve been taking advantage of our built-in BBQ quite often this summer. Today I’m sharing a couple of sneak-peek backyard photos and a recipe that’ll give you a good taste of the summer season: Grilled Flank Steak with Tomato Pepper Salsa
When steak is on the menu at our house, it’s almost always flank steak or skirt steak. It’s one of those cuts of meat that is so easy to work with since it soaks up marinade fairly quickly, and you can throw the whole thing on the grill and just focus on making that one thing perfect. It’s a good one for my husband, who tends to be the talker in the family. If he has friends near his grill, I have to hope and pray that someone around there is paying attention to the fact that the meat is not cooking itself into oblivion.
He’s a cutie- that husband of mine. And he loves his new grill.
Taking a little tour of my backyard…. we have a large deck off the back of the house, edged by grass and a rock wall. There is also a fire pit over yonder behind my photo-bombing husband. We need to buy some cute low-lying chairs to set around the pit.
Most nights we eat on our back deck. The weather is perfectly warm right now- not too hot and not too cool. Being up in the mountains in the middle of trees helps moderate the warm temperatures of the area. It’s so relaxing and peaceful.
On the other side of our deck we have a couple of seating areas that were created by surrounding the giant trees that are growing through the deck. I’m thinking these will be a great place for the kids to sit when we have big, backyard parties.
So back to the recipe… we like our steak a little more done than medium rare. With flank steak, it’s best to cut it against the grain, and it’s best to cut it thinly. The “salsa” is lightly sautéed and then mixed with lemon and vinegar. If you’re a purist, you can absolutely serve it raw if you’d like. The recipe makes quite a lot, so you can be very generous with topping your steak. You’ll get a bite full of that beautiful salsa with every bite of steak. It’s a nice, colorful, delicious summer dinner idea. Enjoy!
Grilled Flank Steak with Tomato Pepper Salsa
Recipe Details
Ingredients
STEAK & MARINADE
- 1½ pounds flank steak (or skirt steak)
- ¼ cup red wine
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or oregano
SALSA
- 1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 medium yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Marinate the steak: Place steak in a large zip baggie. Add marinade ingredients, zip closed and rub into the steak. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours. Remove the steak from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature 30 minutes prior to grilling.
- Prepare the salsa: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet. Add the tomato and peppers and saute over medium heat until they are slightly softened. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper. Let sit at room temperature until ready to serve. (Alternately the salsa can be mixed together raw and served raw instead of sautéed. It's totally up to you).
- Grill the steak: Preheat grill to medium. Drain the marinade and grill steak 5 to 7 minutes per side (depending on thickness and desired doneness). Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing thinly against the grain. Serve steak slices topped with a generous scoop of salsa.
Notes
- Add some fresh corn or diced zucchini to the salsa if you'd like.
We has this for dinner tonight and it was amazing. Perfect recipe for flank steak. It cooked up so quickly. Wonderful weeknight dinner.
Perfection!! My husband would just adore this dish 🙂
I want to move into your backyard Lori!!!
Wow, that’s a pretty sweet backyard… and this is a pretty sweet recipe! Will have to try it before the summer is over. Thanks! 🙂
This looks amazing! Also, your yard looks beautiful 🙂
I am so jealous of your new backyard. So many trees! I can only imagine how peaceful it is. I’ve only been to Tahoe once but I remember it being just beautiful! And I’m with you on the steak. We like to use flank or flat iron when we cook. It’s so nice to only worry about cooking one steak to the perfect temperature. I’m loving the salsa on this one. Must try for our next BBQ.
Ok, first, your deck is so great! And this salsa looks so light and refreshing!
I’m totally with you on flank steak; cooked and cut correctly I think it outshines much pricier beef.
Love your space – reminds me so much of our home in North Carolina where we had a large deck and a backyard filled with trees; it’s beautiful.
Hope you are getting used to altitude baking; it is not the horror some think but certainly can be a pain. I had some depressed cupcakes last week…I just say all the more room for frosting!
OMG, this looks irresistible, Lori! Flank steak is my favorite cut and I love the look of that salsa, too. Scrumptious! Your outdoor entertaining space is lovely, too. Enjoy the weekend!
Love that steak. And, ohhhhhhhh, that back yard. It’s gorgeous. Reminds me of northern MN, love it!!
What a great backyard! The way you incorporated the trees into seating areas is very cool.
Lori your recipe as always is tantalizing but admittedly I’m completely smitten by your backyard! Being an ex-Northern Californian, and having spent alot of time in Tahoe, it brings back such great memories of the summer there; the sights, smells and feeling of being in the forest. I hope you and your family will have many happy years and wonderful memories in your new home.
Sounds delicious, and your deck looks amazing!
You have a beautiful backyard, perfect place to enjoy summer evenings, love how spacious it is!
This sounds like the perfect main course with that delicious marinated grilled steak and that fresh salsa. Your backyard is gorgeous, and your husband does look very happy in it!
Gorgeous deck and backyard! It must be wonderful cooking out there. Love the salsa and steak too.
WOW what a stunning backyard!! This looks delicious, perfect way to enjoy the summer! 🙂
Love that backyard! So gorgeous! Wish we had space like that in NYC 😉
And there’s nothing better than grilled steak and fresh salsa in the Summer!
Your backyard is lovely. I can’t get enough of grilling lately. Your salsa sounds perfect! Have a fabulous day Lori.
I love your beautiful backyard!!!
the food looks fabulous, like the back yard!! what a handsome hubby!
Tasty recipe and dreamy backyard for family dining, relaxing and entertaining, Lori! Thanks for sharing!
Your backyard is so nice! I hear (from my brother who lives in Tahoe) that the weather is so nice in the summer and it’s just gorgeous pretty much everyday. I would be dinning outside too!
This steak looks perfect and I love the tomato-pepper salsa. Plus, you can never go wrong with steak in my family!
Delicious!!
What a beautiful backyard and that deck, omg!! Food looks great too!
Gorgeous backyard! My family always eats al fresco on the back patio when I’m home. That’s one of the things I miss about CA the most…the gorgeous weather! PS that’s some perfectly cooked steak!
I have a new grill so I will try this. I haven’t cooked flanked steak before. Your back yard look amazing.