Meat-and-Potatoes Salad
June 2010
If you like a steakhouse supper with the works—including a great blue cheese-dressed salad—heres a way to eat them all at once.
Makes: 4 servings
- 4 small strip steaks or 4 flatiron steaks (6 to 8 ounces each)
- 2 pounds baby yukon gold potatoes or other small potatoes
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2cup beef consomme or beef stock
- 1 large shallot
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons honey or agave syrup
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- About 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- A few sprigs of sage
- 1 large clove garlic, crushed
- 1 small red onion, quartered and very thinly sliced
- 3 ribs celery from the heart, very thinly sliced on an angle
- 2 small bunches watercress or upland cress, trimmed
- 1 cup blue cheese crumbles
- Take the chill off the steaks and preheat an outdoor grill or griddle pan to medium-high. In a pot, cover the potatoes with water. Cover the pot and bring to a boil, then uncover, salt the water and cook the potatoes until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain, then return the potatoes to the pot and crack in half with a potato masher. Pour in the consomme (or stock).
- While the potatoes are working, grate the shallot into a salad bowl. Add the mustard, honey (or agave), worcestershire sauce and lots of pepper. Whisking constantly, stream in the EVOO; season with salt and pepper to taste.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter on the grill, or, if you're cooking on the stove, over low heat. Add the sage and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove from the grill or reduce the heat to low. Season the steaks with salt and pepper and grill, turning occasionally, for about 9 minutes for medium. Baste the steaks with the garlic-sage butter during the last couple of minutes of cooking. Remove from the heat and let rest, then slice.
- Toss the cooked potatoes, the onion, celery and watercress with the shallot dressing; sprinkle with the blue cheese. Serve with the sliced steak on top or alongside.