Skirt Steak with Green Beans, Corn, and Pesto

There is nothing that I love better than a good steak.  When I was perusing through my Gourmet Magazines last weekend I found this one that caught my eye.  I was not only interested in trying it because reading the recipe made me drool, but it is a 10 minute main dish.  Really?  It is quick, but 10 minutes I don’t think so.  The side dish also was different.  Pesto sauce can add a good flavor and I was interested to see what it would do to two of my favorite vegetables corn and beans.  The original recipe calls for haricots verts, but my CSA box provided me with just plain green beans which were larger than haricots verts. 

Skirt steak is new to me.  When shopping I had a good discussion with the butcher about how to cook it as well as cut it.  Gourmet did not say to marinate it and when mentioning this to the butcher he raised his eyebrow and looked puzzled.  He said, ” Mam,  I really don’t think you should cook this without marinating.”  I went with his advice.  It was a very good idea.  He suggested using salsa or an Italian dressing.  I decided to use Cile’s Marinade that I use for flank steak. Skirt steak is similar to flank steak, but much thinner and longer.  Marinades  only penetrate about 1/4 inch or so of the meat making skirt steak perfect for the marinade.  Cut the steak across the grain which will break up the connective tissue making it easier to chew. Cost wise it is about $2.50 a serving which is not too bad.  Another good thing about this steak is that it can be prepared in a skillet.  

Here is good steak and side dish perfect for summer.

Skirt Steak with Green Beans, Corn, and Pesto  Adapted from Gourmet Magazine  

• 1 1/2 lb skirt steak (marinate overnight with this)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 ears of corn, kernels cut off
• 3/4 lb green beans trimmed
• 1/2 cup basil pesto

Remove steak from marinade and drain well.  Cut into 4 pieces.  Let it sit out to take the chill off.  Meanwhile cook corn.  Heat 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil in a heavy skillet until hot not smoking, then saute corn, stirring, until just starting to brown.  1 to 2 minutes.  Transfer to a large bowl.

Add remaining oil to the skillet and saute steaks, in batches if necessary, turning once.  Cook 3-5 minutes per batch for thin pieces and 5-7 minutes for thicker pieces ( medium-rare).  I cooked mine about 2 minutes per side.  Cooking steak sometimes is such a guessing game for me, but these were perfect.  Transfer steak to a cutting board and let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

While steak is resting cook beans.  I heated my water ahead of time and had it turned to low.  Cook beans in a large pot of well salted (I used 1 tablespoon salt) boiling water uncovered until tender.  I cooked mine for about 6 minutes. Drain well in a colander.  Add beans to corn then add pesto, stirring to coat.  Serve corn and beans topped with sliced steak.

Serves 4

I was skeptical about the beans.  I hate beans that are served at conferences banquet style that are bright green , but taste bad.  I did not want these to turn out like banquet beans.  They were very good with the corn and pesto!

Happy cooking,

The Teacher Cooks