Recipe of the Week: Grilled Flank Steak Marinated In Chianti Wine With Roasted Red Peppers And Spinach
The cuisine of Tuscany is a combination of simple flavors. Extra virgin olive oil, fresh herbs and spices blend to give your flank steak a rustic taste. During one of our tours to this beautiful part of Italy, my group was taught this wonderful recipe by chef Umberto during a hands-on cooking class. We had so much fun learning how to marinade, butterfly and stuff the flank steak with spinach and peppers. Grilled to perfection to let all the flavors come to life. It was such a pleasure sitting down to enjoy our finished creation with a glass of Chianti and the chef’s praise for a job well done. Buon appetito! Serves eight. (Chef tip: Different parts of the country use flank steak, while others use skirt steak.)
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup fresh herb mix chopped fine (rosemary, thyme, parsley)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 pounds flank steak
4 ounces sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 roasted red peppers, sliced
1 pound fresh spinach, sauteed
1 red onion, peeled cut in half and sliced
In a small bowl, mix orange juice, olive oil and white balsamic vinegar. Stir in the cayenne, garlic, mustard and chopped herbs. Season the vinaigrette with salt and pepper. Reserve half for tossing the steak.
Marinade the steak in the vinaigrette for 30 minutes.
Heat the grill on medium. Butterfly the marinated flank steak. Season the steak with salt and pepper and brush with vinaigrette. Top steak with sauteed spinach and top with sun-dried tomatoes, peppers and red onions. Roll up the steak jelly roll-style and tie with butcher string. Grill over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, turning once. Brush the vinaigrette mixture all over the steak and grill for 15 minutes longer at medium meat.
The steak is ready once the temperature on an instant thermometer reaches 135°. Transfer steak to a cutting board and let stand for 20 minutes covered.
Slice the flank steak across the grain. Arrange the steak slices on a platter and drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette and serve.