Steak Salad With Carrot-Ginger Vinaigrette a Savory Sensation

This flavorful salad marries pan-seared skirt steak with a bright and gingery carrot vinaigrette.

While any store-bought variety of seasoned rice vinegar will work in this recipe, the cookbook authors don't suggest substituting regular rice vinegar in its place because you want that sweet-and-salty flavor. Ezume Images/Shutterstock

For meat lovers, there’s nothing better on a spring day than firing up the grill and making yourself a really great steak.

But what if the weather doesn’t cooperate, or worse, your budget doesn’t allow for those fat New York strips or marbled rib-eyes you just know would fill your family’s savory hankerings with their rich, buttery flavor?

How about a steak salad instead?

Since the meat gets sliced thin against the grain into bite-sized pieces, you'll need less of it to fill multiple dinner plates. And if you serve it with fresh, readily available (and economical) veggies like crisp greens and cucumbers, it will still feel substantial while offering a variety of textures, flavors, and nutritional benefits.

This flavorful salad marries pan-seared skirt steak—a budget-friendly cut with a rich, beefy flavor—with a bright and gingery carrot vinaigrette you make in a blender. They’re tossed with crisp disks of spicy radish, paper-thin slices of cucumber, and the sweet and crunchy inner hearts of romaine lettuce.

Carrots can sometimes be almost an afterthought in salad because they’re one of those vegetables you feel obliged to include. (They’re cheap and plentiful year-round.) But here, they’re actually the star of the dish, adding color and earthiness to every bite.

While any store-bought variety of seasoned rice vinegar will work in this recipe (it’s enhanced with sugar and salt), the cookbook authors don’t suggest substituting regular rice vinegar in its place because you want that sweet-and-salty flavor.

Rather use homemade? Simply combine 1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon salt. Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk constantly until the sugar and salt dissolve. (It can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.)

I cooked the steak per instructions in a cast-iron pan on the stovetop, but am looking forward to also trying it on the grill for a more smoky, charred flavor.

Steak Salad with Carrot-Ginger Vinaigrette

PG tested

Serves 4

For vinaigrette

• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 -inch piece ginger, peeled and chopped coarse
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

For salad

• 1 1/2 pounds skirt steak, trimmed and cut with grain into 4-inch lengths
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided
• 3 romaine lettuce hearts, quarters and sliced thin
• 1/2 English cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
• 4 radishes, trimmed and sliced thin
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch matchsticks

Make vinaigrette: Process carrots, vinegar, water, ginger, sesame oil, and salt in blender until finely ground, about 30 seconds.

With blended running slowly add vegetable oil and process until incorporated and smooth, about 20 seconds. Set aside.

Prepare salad: Pat steak dry with paper towels and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half of steak and cook until well browned and meat registers 125 degrees F (medium-rare), about 2 minutes per side.

Repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and remaining steak. Let rest 5 minutes.

Toss lettuce, cucumber, radishes, carrots, and 1/2 cup vinaigrette together in bowl. Divide salad among 4 plates.

Slice steak thin against grain. Top individual salad portions with steak.

Serve, passing remaining vinaigrette separately.

—“The Complete Salad Cookbook” by America’s Test Kitchen

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