Grilled Flank Steak With Avocado, Charred Corn & Red Onion Salsa
You can put this salsa together ahead of time, but add the avocado at the last minute so it doesn’t brown. Tomatoes or red bell peppers would make good additions.
1 large or 2 small ears corn, shucked
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 flank steak, about 1 1/2 pounds
Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup diced red onion (about 1/2 small onion)
1 small avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 3/4 cup)
1 to 2 tablespoons lime juice
Heat a grill to high. Rub corn with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Rub the flank steak on both sides with the remaining oil. Season both with salt and pepper and place on the grill.
Cook the corn 3 to 5 minutes, turning occasionally, until slightly charred. Remove from the grill and allow to cool slightly.
Cook the steak 10 to 12 minutes for medium rare, turning once halfway through. Remove from the grill, tent with foil and let rest for 10 minutes.
While the steak rests, cut corn kernels off the cobs and toss with the onion and avocado. Add lime juice to taste, and season with salt and pepper.
Cut the steak into thin slices against the grain, and serve topped with the salsa. Makes 4 servings.
Per serving: 435 calories, 37 g protein, 9 g carbohydrate, 28 g fat (8 g saturated), 88 mg cholesterol, 115 mg sodium, 2 g fiber.
Main dish
Roast Chicken With Peach, Toasted Coconut & Jalapeño Salsa
If you like spicier flavors, add more jalapeños to taste. This salsa would also be great served over shrimp or fish.
1 (3- to 4-pound) chicken, cut into 10 pieces (breasts halved)
1/2 cup large flaked coconut (unsweetened), toasted
1 large jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1 to 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Arrange the chicken pieces in one layer in a baking dish. Rub with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes, until meat registers 165 degrees on a thermometer.
Meanwhile, toss the peaches, coconut and jalapeño pepper with the vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve the chicken topped with the salsa. Makes 4 servings.
Per serving: 431 calories, 35 g protein, 13 g carbohydrate, 26 g fat (9 g saturated), 108 mg cholesterol, 103 mg sodium, 2 g fiber.
Main dish
Pan-Seared Snapper With Red Pepper, Jicama & Green Onion Salsa
Use any mild-fleshed white fish for this dish. The salsa can be made up to a day in advance, although the jicama will start to turn red from the peppers.
2 large green onions, sliced thin
3/4 cup diced red bell pepper
3/4 cup diced jicama
1 to 2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste
4 snapper fillets, skin off, about 6 ounces each
2 tablespoons olive oil
Combine the onion, bell pepper and jicama in a bowl. Toss with the vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Season the snapper with salt and pepper on both sides. In a large, nonstick pan set over high heat, warm the olive oil until very hot but not smoking. Carefully place the fish into the pan, without crowding, and cook 4 to 5 minutes, until a golden crust forms. Flip over gently, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook another 3 to 5 minutes, until cooked through. Serve topped with the salsa. Makes 4 servings.
Per serving: 256 calories, 36 g protein, 6 g carbohydrate, 9 g fat (1 g saturated), 63 mg cholesterol, 188 mg sodium, 2 g fiber.
Main dish
Grilled Shrimp Skewers With Watermelon, Cucumber & Yellow Tomato Salsa
This salsa goes well with almost any type of fish, from mild sole to heartier salmon.
2/3 cup diced watermelon
2/3 cup diced yellow tomatoes
2/3 cup diced peeled cucumber
1 to 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste
40 raw, medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails left intact (about 1 pound)
2 tablespoons olive oil
If you’re using wooden skewers, soak them for at least 20 minutes to prevent burning. Heat the grill to high, and scrub the grates clean.
Meanwhile, combine the watermelon, tomatoes and cucumber. Toss with the vinegar; season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Thread 5 shrimp onto each of 8 skewers. Rub all over with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on the well-greased grill, and cook for about 5 minutes total or until cooked through, turning once halfway through. Serve with salsa on the side. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Per serving: 194 calories, 24 g protein, 4 g carbohydrate, 9 g fat (1 g saturated), 172 mg cholesterol, 174 mg sodium, 1 g fiber.
Main dish
Lamb Chops With Roasted Eggplant, Pine Nut & Feta Salsa
Be sure to cool the roasted eggplant completely before adding so the cheese doesn’t melt. The salsa would also be great served on crostini.
3/4 pound globe eggplant, peeled and diced
3 tablespoons olive oil plus more for the pan
Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste
8 to 12 small lamb rib chops (1 1/2 to 2 pounds total)
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the eggplant on a sheet pan and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, and toss with your hands to coat well. Roast for about 15 minutes, shaking the pan once during cooking to turn the eggplant. Remove the pan from the oven, and let the eggplant cool completely.
Turn off the oven and heat the broiler.
Grease a baking sheet or broiler pan with olive oil. Season the lamb chops with salt and pepper and rub with remaining tablespoon oil. Arrange on the prepared pan. Place about 4 inches beneath the broiler; cook 6 to 7 minutes for medium rare, turning once halfway through.
Meanwhile, toss the eggplant with the pine nuts and feta cheese. Add the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve the lamb chops topped with the salsa. Makes 4 servings.
Per serving: 612 calories, 38 g protein, 8 g carbohydrate, 48 g fat (18 g saturated), 139 mg cholesterol, 240 mg sodium, 3 g fiber.
By Amanda Gold
San Francisco Chronicle
For many home cooks, five ingredients is the tipping point for an easy recipe. Anything more, and even the most experienced among us might be tempted to search for something more straightforward, especially this time of year.
With more relaxed summer schedules, cooking might not be a high priority, but great-tasting meals still are, so paring down the ingredient list is essential.
And that brings it all around to salsas. I’m not talking about the spicy tomato-based blends. I mean unexpected, seasonal combinations that bend the rules a bit.
Pair salsa with a simply cooked protein like grilled flank steak or roast chicken and you have an impressive meal that uses just a handful of ingredients — five, to be exact (we don’t count standard pantry items like oil, salt and pepper). Make a little extra, and these salsas can become salad mix-ins or side dishes.
When working with so few ingredients, it’s essential to get the most bang for your buck — in this case, as many colors, textures and complementary flavors as possible into one dish.
The salsa we pair with flank steak, for example, combines creamy avocado and crunchy onions with sweet and smoky corn. Lime juice pulls it all together, offsetting the richness with a hit of acid. Simply seasoned beef, grilled and sliced, allows the salsa to pop, and a quick char on the meat matches the corn.
Another combination uses seasoned rice vinegar to enhance a crisp blend of red peppers, jicama and thinly sliced scallions for fish. Unlike the avocado salsa, which needs to be finished at the last minute, this one can be done in advance and gets even better as it sits.
Most proteins cooked without sauce can be served at any temperature, so you can pack something like grilled shrimp skewers for a picnic and pair them with a bright, crisp and juicy salsa made from diced watermelon, cucumbers and yellow tomatoes.
Salsa-building gets even more fun when you dabble in the unexpected. For example, toss juicy peaches with nutty coconut and spicy jalapeños. The liquid from the fruit slightly reconstitutes the flaked coconut, and the heat of the peppers cuts the overall sweetness. Over pieces of roast chicken — which need just 30 minutes or so in the oven — the salsa is surprisingly balanced. If you like a savory element in your sweets, this would work as a dessert component, too.
Sometimes, of course, we’re hungry for something with a little more heft. In that case, our cooked salsa of roasted eggplant, toasted pine nuts and feta cheese fits the bill. It’s best over the lamb chops, but could also be served on its own as an appetizer with pita chips.
Just don’t get too complicated. There’s something to be said for a simple quintet.
In this tough world of ours, try a little tenderness. Try kale. It’s the leafy green everyone’s talking about but no one seems to eat. Often dismissed as fibrous and bitter, kale turns supple and sweet with a little hands-on participation.
I was raised on tuna salad made with mayonnaise, sour cream and lemon juice. It was one of my mom’s go-to dishes, often served as a last-minute meal staple.
At heart, a quesadilla is pretty much a Mexican grilled cheese. Take a tortilla, stuff it with something savory, add some cheese, fold it in half and toast it. It’s also pretty delicious.
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