Grilled Steak and Sweet Cherry Salad
This Grilled Steak Salad and Sweet Cherry Salad is the perfect summer salad - healthy, hearty, bursting with fresh, seasonal ingredients and loaded with tender, succulent steak!
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 2 cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves about ¼ pound
- ⅓ cup rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 clove garlic finely minced
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh lemongrass or lemongrass paste
- ¾ cup mild-flavored oil such as sunflower, grapeseed, avocado, vegetable or canola oil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the corn:
- 3 ears fresh corn unhusked
For the steak:
- 1 ½ pounds flat-iron, beef tenderloin, rib-eye or sirloin steak or your favorite type of steak
- 1½ teaspoons garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the salad:
- 6 cups baby arugula
- 1 cup sweet cherries pitted and halved
- ⅓ cup salted cashew halves
Instructions
For the dressing:
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Bring a medium-large pot, ⅔ full of water, to a rolling boil. Add basil and submerge it under the water with a large, heat-resistant spoon. After 20 seconds, drain basil and rinse with cold water for 30 seconds to stop the cooking process. Gather basil in your hand and squeeze as much water out as possible.
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Combine basil with all other dressing ingredients in a blender container. Cover and blend on high until the dressing is bright green and silky smooth. When you start blending, the dressing will be flecked with bits of basil. Keep going and it will smooth out. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Set aside.
For the corn:
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Prepare corn by placing the three ears in the microwave, unhusked. Cook on high power for 6 minutes. Remove from the microwave with a clean kitchen towel or oven mitt and transfer to a cutting board.
Cut off about 1½-2 inches from the bottom (stem end) of each ear. Hold corn at the silk end with the towel and push the corn out of the husk. The corn comes out perfectly cooked and free of silk! Check out the video above in the post!
For the steak:
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Keep steak refrigerated until just before grilling.
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Heat a gas or charcoal grill on high for 20 minutes. Clean the grill grate thoroughly with a wire grill brush and oil the grates.
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Just before grilling, brush the steak with olive oil and sprinkle it generously with garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper.
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Place steaks on the grill and flip every 2-3 minutes. Cook until meat reaches the desired temperature. See Café Tips above in the post for steak temperatures. If the meat is deep golden brown on the outside but has still not reached the desired internal temperature, move the meat to indirect heat to finish cooking. (If the steak seems dry at any point, brush the top side with a bit more olive oil before flipping.)
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Remove from grill and tent meat with foil. Allow the steak to rest for 10 minutes. (This allows the juices to return to the meat.) Slice thinly just before serving. Taste and add a bit more salt and pepper, if needed.
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For the salad, arrange arugula on four dinner plates. Divide the cherries, corn and steak between the plates. Scatter with cashews and drizzle with dressing. Pass extra dressing at the table.
Recipe Notes
See Café Tips above in the post for more detailed instructions and tips to ensure success.
If you prefer to use Metric measurements there is a button in each of our recipes, right above the word “Instructions”. Just click that button to toggle to grams, milliliters, etc. If you ever come across one of our recipes that doesn’t have the Metric conversion (some of the older recipes may not), feel free to leave a comment and I will add it.