Aromatic Vegetables with Savory Flank Steak
Zucchini, eggplant, onions and bell peppers are in the summer spotlight at the farmers’ market. With so many of these vegetables available, we are always looking for new ways to use them.
The following recipe adapts the traditional ratatouille, and instead of tomatoes includes a delicious marinated flank steak. It’s a pleasant shift from the usual salad or plate of steamed broccoli to go with your dinnertime filet of salmon or other meat. The zucchini and eggplant comes out of the skillet slightly wilted but chunky, its flavors and herbs full of the marinade and juices from the beef.
To make this simple Primal recipe you’ll need:
Ingredients:
6-12 oz. organic farm-raised flank steak, sliced as desired (I cut it into 2-inch bite-sized pieces)
1 tablespoon wheat-free tamari sauce
½ teaspoon cumin
Extra virgin olive oil
1 large fresh eggplant, cut across into ¾ inch slices
Fresh zucchini, ends trimmed, cut into half moons
½ white onion, thinly sliced
1 large purple bell pepper
1 large red bell pepper
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
Fresh rosemary
Directions:
Preheat oven to about 400 F. Spray a baking sheet with oil.
In a small bowl, mix cumin with wheat-free tamari. Slice steak into 1-2 inch cubes and toss into bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside about 30 minutes.
Brush each side of the eggplant slices with olive oil and place them on the baking sheet. Bake each side of the eggplant for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Keep separate.
While eggplant bakes, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in a skillet or Dutch oven. Add onion and thyme leaves, cooking for about 3 minutes, or until onion is shiny and no longer firm. Add zucchini and cook until fork pushes through easily, about 10 minutes. Lower heat and add bay leaf, tomatoes, peppers and garlic, giving it all a nice stir. Cover and simmer, about 10 minutes.
Slice the eggplant pieces in half. Lightly sprinkle with salt and add to the skillet vegetable mixture, cooking for an additional 20 minutes, allowing all flavors to blend.
Near the end of the 20 minutes, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium heat in a small skillet. Add steak and cook until just brown but still pink in the middle. Transfer steak in with the vegetables, turning the heat up again to medium.
Cook covered for 4-5 minutes maximum, until steak is cooked through. Serve warm with a glass of good red wine.
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Posted By: Worker Bee
I totally beat you guys to this one! I had a delicious ratatouille (with both tomatoes and beef) for my birthday dinner. The seasonings I used were more Italian, though. It’s amazing how well the bay leaves complement basil and oregano.
This looks amazing, I can’t wait to try it!
mmmmmmm i think i have all the necessar ingedients in my fridge right now. i’ll have to give it a try
Looks like this will work just as well with the Grassfed Sirloin I got yesterday.
nice touch with the eggplant.
looks good!
This takes care of most of what comes out of my CSA box these days, thanks Mark.
in my opinion, it’s always kind of tricky to find something that gets along with steak… you know, without overriding the steaks flavour or the steak killing the flavour of the sidedish vice versa. this one definitly looks like a nice idea, especially since i’m drowning in zucchini right now haha
Looks delish!
I’ll definetely try it. It looks delicious.
Going to try this once I get paid again. Never had eggplant…
This will be on our table tomorrow night.
Mmmm…. this looks great! My husband isn’t a fan of eggplant, so I will leave that out.
Yum! Looks good:)
Delicious! And I just pulled some beef out of the freezer, too.
The last time I had anything remotely like this was at a PF Changs… time to go unprocessed!
off to the nearest farmer’s market for eggplant…I have everything else in the refrigerator. Thanks for the great recipes!
Heard about your site/book on 2blowhards.com. Looking forward to reading your book and trying some of these recipes.
Flank steak and eggplant are two of my favorites! Yum.
Looks extremely good. Eggplant is one of my new favorites.
Looks good. After last weeks recipe i went and bought my first mangos ever. Have not tried with pork roast but have enjoyed in BAS.
Can’t wait to try this. Great way to enjoy an all-in-supper.
Can’t wait to try this. Great way to enjoy an all-in-one supper.
This is how I do dinner practically every night, delicious.
so many tasty recipes, so little time
PriMAL fAJITAS!!!!
Beautiful dish and awesome flavors. I haven’t made flank steak in a long time… Time to pick some up…
Looks beautiful!
That flank steak looks amazing!
Perfect! I got tamari that I’ve never used for anything yet.