Flank steak Giada would probably make

posted in beef/veal on Mar 01, 2008

As I was sticking this into the oven, I decided this would be something Giada would make. Doesn’t she put sundried tomatoes and basil in pretty much anything? Of course, she would probably use mascarpone instead of the goat cheese. Not that I am knocking her, at all, because these are some fantastic ingredients and usually make things taste pretty darn good. Where Giada stocks her mascarpone, I stock my goat cheese. It’s one of my favorite kinds of cheese and I think it goes well with pretty much anything. In fact, just today I had some on a salad for lunch, and then stuffed into a flank steak for dinner. Mmm, tangy, creamy goodness.

I have said it before and I will say it again: stuffed meats = delicious. Even when you are low on groceries you can inevitably find something to stuff into a chicken breast, pork tenderloin, flank steak, etc. that will give it a little extra oomph and some more elegance (although if you are trying to make it look elegant, I suggest slicing it a little prettier than I did today 🙂

To make sure we don’t overeat, I usually package and freeze our meats into 2-person portions (or sometimes 4, making enough for lunch leftovers). I mention this because the piece of steak I used for this was roughly 8-10 oz big so if you are planning on using an entire flank steak, you will have to double or triple the amount of stuffing, as flanks tend to be around 1.5 lbs. each. We both LOVE this. It’s one of our favorite stuffings for flank.

Here’s a tip: it turns out that, even though the pan is sitting on the stovetop when you make the pan sauce, it’s still hot as hell from being in a 400 degree oven. So, try not to grip the handle at this time. Not that I have any experience with that or anything…

My pictures didn’t turn out too great, due in part to the not-so-pretty slices of flank steak pinwheels and also because I couldn’t keep a steady hand tonight for some reason (I’d imagine it could have something to do with the 2nd degree burn to the left palm, if I were admitting I did in fact have a burned palm).

Flank Steak Stuffed with Sundried Tomatoes, Goat Cheese and Basil
Serves 2
Printer Friendly Recipe

10 oz. (ish) flank steak
2 oz. goat cheese, brought to room temperature to soften
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, drained and chopped
3 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Optional pan sauce:
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. white wine

Preheat the oven to 400.

Butterfly the flank steak, and then pound is to flatten it slightly. Sprinkle both sides of the steak with salt and pepper.

In a bowl, combine the softened goat cheese, sundried tomatoes, basil, a few grinds of pepper. Spread the mixture on top of the flank steak, and then roll it up to form a log. Secure the steak with kitchen twine or toothpicks.

Heat a large, ovenproof skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the flank steak and brown it on all sides. Place the flank steak in the oven to finish cooking to your desired level of doneness (about 12 minutes for me). Place the steak under a foil tent to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

If you want to make a pan sauce, put the same pan you cooked the steak in over medium heat on your stovetop. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant. Add the wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up all the browned bits (and, whatever you do, don’t touch the handle without an oven mitt). Reduce the sauce slightly and then season to taste with salt and pepper if necessary. Strain and serve over the flank steak.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 340 / Fat: 21g / Carbs: 4.2g / Protein: 29.3