Grass Fed Strip Steak with Watercress Chili Salad and Citrus Dressing

My beautiful wife, Clare, is always trying to get me to eat my vegetables, which is quite a task given that I am a committed carnivore.  She has made inroads, because I definitely eat more vegetables than I ever did in the past. I've also come to realize that I need to eat more vegetables to have a healthy, balanced diet, but it is hard.  Really hard.

So, when I decided to make a steak, I decided that I would make a salad as a side.  It could not be any salad.  I am not a big fan of iceberg lettuce or other basic leafy greens.  So, when it came to what kind of vegetable I would use for my salad, my thoughts turned to watercress, a semi-aquatic leaf vegetable that, according to Wikipedia, is one of the oldest vegetables consumed by people.  Also, as explained on Wikipedia, watercress is related to garden cress and mustard, and all three are noted for their peppery, tangy flavors.

With the lettuce question solved, I still needed to make the salad appealing to me and, the easiest way to do that is to incorporate chiles and citrus.  So, I bought a red chili, along with a lemon, lime and orange, and I had the basic ingredients to make a Watercress Chili Salad with Citrus Dressing.  Remember, I made this salad for myself, and I love spicy, peppery foods, so this salad has quite a kick to it.  But, if you like chiles like I do, then you could give this recipe a try.

GRASS FED STRIP STEAK WITH

WATERCRESS CHILI SALAD AND CITRUS DRESSING

Serves 2

A Chef Bolek Original

Ingredients:
1 grass fed strip steak (about 3/4 of a pound)
1 bunch of watercress
1 red chile, sliced very thinly
1 garlic, finely diced
1 lemon (zest 1/2 of the lemon)
1 lime (zest 1/2 of the lime)
1 orange (zest 1/4 of the orange)
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Salt, to taste
Ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Cook the steak.  Salt and pepper the steak liberally on all sides.  Cook the steak in the broiler for about seven minutes on one side, flip and cook for about another five minutes or until it is done to your desired level (medium rare, medium, etc.).

2.  Prepare the watercress and dressing.  While the steak is cooking, trim the watercress.   Juice the lemon, lime and orange into a bowl.  Add the zest from the fruit to the juice.  Add the garlic and sliced chile.  Whisk in the olive oil until it is incorporated with the citrus juice.  Salt and pepper to taste.

3.  Plate the dish.  Slice the steak and arrange the slices.  Pour some of the dressing over the salad and mix thoroughly.  (Add more dressing if you like.)  Plate the salad.

ENJOY!