Flank Steak
I marinated the steak in an "asian" style marinade. I know the sandwich has no other asian notes, but somehow it works. These measurements aren't exact, but they are close. (BTW, this marinade would be good as a salad dressing as well!)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
Juice of 3 limes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley
Put all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.
The steak I purchased was a little over a pound. I put it in a zip top bag, poured the marinade over it, and let it marinate for 3-4 hours. I took it out of the refrigerator about 45 minutes before I cooked it to come to room temperature.
Since it is very cold out right now, I didn't want to grill the steak. So, I broiled it. I placed the steak on a grill pan and put it under the broiler for about 7-8 minutes on the first side, and about 6 on the other. This delivered a beautiful medium rare steak. I also let it rest, wrapped in aluminum foil, for 10 minutes before slicing. This step is very important to preserve all the yummy juices. When it's ready for slicing, I sliced it very thinly, cutting across the grain of the steak.
Blue Cheese Mayo
I found some wonderfully creamy rogue blue cheese at Whole Foods. It was a mild cheese, but stood up well to the other flavors of the sandwich.
Again, these measurements are not exact.
In a blender or small food processor, mix together
1/2 cup mayo
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper
After it is smooth and creamy, spoon into a bowl and stir in about 4 ounces of crumbled rogue (or your favorite) blue cheese.
Red Onion Marmalade
(adapted from Chase's Red Onion Marmalade)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 bay leaf
1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp red wine
grated zest and juice of 1/2 orange
salt and pepper
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onions, bay leaf, and thyme. Season with the salt and pepper and then cover with the lid and cook over a low heat for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally and the onions are done when they are soft and translucent.
Add the sugar, vinegar, red wine, zest, and orange juice. Cook for another 30 minutes to an hour uncovered stirring quite often toward the end of cooking time. Cook until there is no liquid left and the onions are dark with a rich red color.
Kaiser Rolls
I bought some fantastic kaiser rolls from a local bread shop. They are really soft, and perfect for this sandwich.
To prepare the rolls, I melted a Tbsp of butter in a stainless steel frying pan, over med-low heat. I added a dash of salt, and 1 clove garlic minced. I sliced the rolls, and put them (sliced side) down in the butter. I used a pastry brush to brush some of the butter on the outside of the top halves of the rolls. Then I covered them with a tent of foil, let them toast for 5-10 minutes, or until just golden brown. I took them out and wrapped in foil until I was ready to assemble the sandwiches.
The assembly:
1. Bottom bun
2. "Shmear" of blue cheese mayo
3. 6-7 leaves arugula
4. 6-7 thin slices of steak
5. 2 thin slices fresh tomato
6. 2 Tbsp Red Onion Marmalade
7. Top bun with another "shmear" of the mayo
The next step is transforming this into a warm, comforting steak soup...
