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 love this blog
I actually like eggplant but the steak in the picture looks a bit rare for my taste…more Primal, I guess!
Has anyone here heard about sprinkling eggplant slices with salt and leaving them to drain for an hour prior to cooking? I seem to recall that it’s supposed to rid them of bitter juices, but I don’t have alot of experience with eggplant.
totally awsome!!!!!
Not much of a squash person, I ought to learn.
Flank steaks are one of my favorites. I already have a book but I’d be more than happy to give a copy away!
JT
Yummy! Flank steak is my favorite. Should be getting our 1/2 of an organic grass fed cow pretty soon.
I’ve been looking for a good eggplant and zucchini recipe, I am excited to try this one. Thanks!
mmm, this looks good, and dam did this site blow up or what?
Is wheat-free soy sauce really necessary? Doesn’t that just mean it’s more processed than traditional soy sauce?
Actually, the wheat is just a filler, to save money and spread the soy sauce out. Traditional soy sauce shouldn’t have wheat in it at all.
I can never seem to get those eggplants just right.
Sorry if repeating anyone else, but I think Tamari is the “true” fermented soy sauce, so try looking in Asian / Oriental shops.
And to stop the eggplant soaking up aaaall the oil, you can bake it first either whole or in slices to dry it out a bit. Have to admit I’m not a major eggplant fan but I’m sure no-one would notice if I “forgot” to add it…!
Pebbles – salting is supposed to draw out bitter juices but apparently modern varieties aren’t so bitter anyway? So probably not needed. Maybe.
I’m just getting into beef (the smell use to repulse me). I bought a brillinat cut from a farmers market, so cant wait to get into it!
-Grok On!
Now if I could only get my children to eat eggplant…
mmm Ratatouille. Maybe I should try mixing some Kangaroo meat with it. Red meat looks good with that combination.
Sounds delicious and all, but I prefer the taste of raw vegetables, cooked ones are blasphemy to me.
looks great
yum!
gonna try it tonight! thanks mark.
I wonder how good this would taste without the eggplant or onion? I’m not a fan of either…it does look really good though!
Looks & sounds great.I gotta try this one soon.
That meal looks fantastic! Zucchini is my favorite in any dish!
I love this primal challenge, nothing makes me feel better than eating real foods.
I think I know what’s for dinner tonight!
Great stuff.
A nice steak with vegetables? Sounds great to me! Keep the recipes coming. Would regular soy sauce be an appropriate substitute for tamari sauce?
Soy sauce generally contains wheat and, well, soy. Neither of those are particularly primal. On the other hand, remember the 80/20 rule, right? Just don’t go nuts with it.
How about a nice fatty ribeye instead of the flank steak?
Excellent! I’m turning on the BBQ tonight with a grassfed ribeye and a radish salad. Fat left on. Yum.
Made a killer hanger steak w/ okra last night. Primal!
Flank steak used to be really cheap, but not anymore. Anyway, I’ll have to try this recipe.
This looks great. I’ve never seen tamari, wheat-free or otherwise, so I guess finding that will be my next mission.