Grilled Flank Steak Salad with Smoked Paprika Dressing Recipe

Maybe it’s the fireworks or the parades, but the beginning of July always feels like the start of one big summertime party. Yesterday, July 1st, was Canada Day and my family honored the day with a rousing (if not overly-dramatic and out-of-tune) rendition of “O Canada!” as we sat down at the breakfast table. Given that we live in the U.S., the maple-leafed proceedings are getting them warmed up for July 4th, just a couple of days away. It’s time to man the barbecue, pull out the sparklers and cue the red, white and blue-adorned ATVs, riding lawnmowers and horses that ride in our neighborhood parade every year. It’s quite the sight! And let’s not forget the food. What is a patriotic celebration without seared, juicy steak and blueberry ice cream pie?


Happy Canada Day!

The past several days have brought smoking hot temperatures to Utah and we found ourselves spending too much time sitting inside, giving thanks to the air-conditioning gods. Those of you who have kids, and particularly boys, know what happens when you spend too much time indoors.

It looks something like this:

It’s all fun and games until…well, you know.

My husband had the inspired idea to march the boys off to get into their bathing suits, pull out the hoses and sponges, and wash our cars.

They burned off energy, they cooled down under the hoses, the cars became sparkly and I got to capture some pictures. We killed about four birds with one stone. Brilliant!

A couple of hours before dinner I threw a flank steak into a simple marinade of soy sauce, smoked paprika, garlic, white wine vinegar and a touch of oil. When dinnertime rolled around, we grilled the steak (that takes no more than 10 minutes), thinly sliced the juicy meat and lay it on a bed of greens alongside some red bell pepper and cucumbers. A drizzle of smoked paprika dressing finished off this easy and healthy salad.

As satisfying as this salad was, I knew I needed to pair it with something else to fill up the hungry bellies at our table. I served the grilled steak salads with Bush’s Grillin’ Beans Black Bean Fiesta. The black beans are simmered in a sauce of chipotle peppers, which echoes the smokiness of the smoked paprika in the steak marinade and dressing, and are studded with the summertime flavors of corn and red peppers. This is one of my favorite flavors of the Grillin’ Beans. Not only do they taste great, but a half-cup has a mere 110 calories and 2 grams of sugar while packing a punch of protein and fiber (5 grams each).

This would be the perfect dish to share at your Fourth of July barbecue. If you prefer, toss the salad in one big bowl and let everyone serve themselves. The steak can be grilled several hours in advance and served at room temperature.

The recipe:

The steak:
In a large glass dish, whisk together the soy sauce, white wine vinegar, canola oil, garlic, smoked paprika and pepper.

Add the flank steak and turn to coat with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for approximately 2 hours.

Heat the grill to medium-high heat. Lightly oil the grill.

Remove the steak from the marinade and discard the marinade.

Grill the flank steak to desired degree of doneness, 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare.

Let the steak rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Cut in thin slices across the grain.

The dressing:
Whisk together port wine vinegar (sherry vinegar will also work here), smoked paprika and salt. Slowly pour in olive oil, whisking constantly.

Putting it together:
Divide the spring greens between four dinner plates or large bowl. Top with the flank steak, red bell pepper and cucumber. Drizzle with some of the dressing and serve. Use more dressing, if desired.

Other steak salads:
Cookin’ Canuck’s Grilled Flank Steak Salad with Chimichurri Dressing
Dine & Dish’s Cajun Beef Southwestern Salad
Add a Pinch’s Seven Pepper Steak Salad
Bev Cooks’ Mexican Steak Salad

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by the good people at Bush’s Beans. In addition, they supplied me with the beans that are pictured in the post.

Tagged as: beef, dressing, flank steak, grilled, recipe, salad, smoked paprika, vinaigrette