“You know,” Jay commented the other day, “I haven’t been craving a lot of steak lately. It just doesn’t sound good to me anymore.” It was true. Neither of us had ordered steak at a restaurant recently and we hadn’t cooked it at home in almost a year. I guess we were both just over steak.
The more I thought about it, I realized the last steaks we cooked at home were on Easter. We picked up two nice New York Strips and grilled them with a balsamic glaze. The char from the hot grill kept the insides juicy and tender. You practically needed just a butter knife to get through the perfectly medium rare insides and the rich flavor with tart balsamic glaze made each bite pure perfection. Just thinking about that meal made my mouth water and before I knew it, I had a serious hankering for steak again.
Let’s talk about the word ‘hankering’ for a minute. I like to think of it as having a craving so bad it hurts and it’s only applicable for burgers, meat, sandwiches, or anything deep fried. You cannot have a hankering for a chia seed parfait or a salad. It doesn’t work that way.
So at the store I grabbed not one, but two sirloin steaks since this was a pretty serious hankering and the only way to cure it is to have steak at least two nights in a row.
Our first meal was this 20 Minute Steak and Mushroom Penne with Walnut Kale Pesto. The hearty steak, beefy mushrooms, and chewy whole grain pasta had just about all but satiated by craving completely but we still had a whole other steak to cook the next night.
Since our first meal was carb based and a little heavy, I wanted something lighter to pair the steak with the next night. Remember when I said you can’t have a hankering for a salad? I’m making an exception. It’s ok as long as there is at least 4 ounces of steak on top.
You’re gonna want this salad dressing recipe in your life. It’s almost more like a dip but it works really well with thicker greens like kale. The base is greek yogurt. I love the tang of greek yogurt on just about anything, but you could easily swap it out for sour cream or mayonnaise if that’s more your thing.
I included asparagus and walnuts to fortify the salad a little more. The flavor of asparagus pairs really well with steak and the walnuts give the salad a nice little crunch. Each bite of this salad has a little of everything; hearty steak, creamy dressing, fresh asparagus, and crumbly walnuts.
This salad comes together quick and is not labor intensive in any way making it perfect for a weeknight meal.
Steak and Asparagus Salad with Creamy Yogurt Dressing
This recipe makes 2 salads, but can easily be multiplied to serve more
For the Dressing
- 1 Cup Greek Yogurt
- 2 Tsp Dijon
- Juice from Half a Lemon
- 1 Tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Tsp Onion Powder
- 1 Tsp Garlic Powder
- Fresh Cracked Pepper
For the Salad
- 8 Asparagus Spears
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 Tbsp + 2 Tsp Olive Oil
- 8 Oz. Sirloin
- 4 Cups Kale
- 10 Walnut Halves, chopped
Thoroughly combine all the ingredients for the dressing and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 425. Place the asparagus on a pan and drizzle with two tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and place the pan in the oven and allow the asparagus to cook for 8-10 minutes.
Heat an oven proof medium sized pan over medium high heat. Season the sirloin with salt, pepper, and the remaining olive oil. Place in the pan and allow one side to cook for two minutes. Flip the steak and place in the hot oven and allow to cook for about two minutes for medium-rare steak or add additional time for steak that’s cooked through more.
Remove the steak from the pan and set on a cutting board. Allow the steak to rest before slicing. Meanwhile, add a quarter of the dressing to the kale and combine. Assemble the salad by layering the asparagus, steak, walnuts, and additional yogurt dressing.
