Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Flank Steak with Red Wine and Tamarind Sauce

Main Dishes

Ah yes, it’s finally time to share my very first beef recipe! We don’t eat a huge amount of red meat, but every once in awhile a serious craving strikes and I just have to devour a juicy burger or steak. I only recently began cooking steak at home though because I was always a little nervous I would accidently overcook a pricey cut. I finally decided to just dive in and go for it, and I’m so happy I did because I’m feeling much more comfortable now that I’ve had a bit of practice.

We’ve become very enamored with tamarind sauce, which is one of the condiments commonly served with samosas. I thought the flavor would pair well with red wine, so I used the two to marinate a lovely flank steak and then also make a sauce to top it. I cooked our steak under the broiler, but grilling it would also work well. The wine flavor is pretty pronounced, so be sure to use one that you like and not one of those “cooking” wines. This recipe is the perfect way to use up any extra wine you couldn’t quite finish the night before. Of course, you could alternatively open a new bottle and enjoy a couple glasses while you’re whipping up the marinade – such a win-win situation!

Flank Steak with Red Wine and Tamarind Sauce
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Marinade:
1 cup red wine (I used Cabernet Sauvignon)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup tamarind sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pounds beef flank steak

Sauce:
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup tamarind sauce
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

Directions:
To make the marinade, place red wine, olive oil, tamarind sauce, and salt in a small bowl and whisk until well combined. Place steak and marinade in large food-safe plastic bag and make sure marinade evenly coats steak. Close bag, removing as much air as possible, and marinate in refrigerator 6 hours or as long as overnight, turning once.

Heat oven broiler. Remove steak from marinade and place steak on rack of broiler pan so surface of beef is 2 to 3 inches from heat. Broil 10 to 16 minutes for medium rare (145°F) to medium (160°F) doneness, turning once. Remove; let stand 5 minutes to rest. Carve steak across the grain into long strips.

Meanwhile, make the sauce by placing red wine, tamarind sauce, and brown sugar in a small pot over medium heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally for 7 minutes or until thickened and reduced. Spoon sauce over cut steak. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 568 calories, 30.7g fat, 1.5g fiber, 35.6g protein per serving
Cost: $3.63 per serving

Goat Cheese Risotto with Yellow Squash and Zucchini

It’s Wednesday night, and if all goes well, this post will go live on Friday. I’m leaving for San Diego early tomorrow morning for another work conference and thought I’d see how the scheduled post function works! Hopefully by the time you’re reading this, I’ll be all...

Chicken Sausage Pasta with Broccoli and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Sometimes I get in a dinner rut and forget how much I enjoy cooking with certain ingredients. I was recently reminded that I hadn’t used chicken sausage in a long time after seeing a few delicious and quick meal recipes on Meghan’s fantastic blog, You’re Gonna Bake It...

Indian Spiced Chicken and Potato Cakes

Whew, what a week! We moved and are finally mostly unpacked, although the guest bedroom is still a bit of a disaster and we need to go shopping for a few accessories (rugs, mirrors, etc). The most important room is completely organized and fully functional already...

Walnut Chicken Strips with Rosemary Cider Sauce

I was a really picky eater growing up, like sort of embarrassingly picky looking back...but I was always up for chicken strips or nuggets. In fact, even if they weren’t on the menu, I’d do my best to find a way to order them. At Chinese restaurants, for example, I...

Gnocchi with Pancetta, Mushrooms, and Gruyere

Apolinaras and I finally checked out Foundry on Elm, a newish hot spot in our neighborhood, on one of our recent date nights. It was packed on the Tuesday evening we went and we could see why after we tried the creative cocktails. Mine was called the Bee’s Knees and...

Creamy Lemon Summer Squash Pasta

So it’s official – I’m a triathlete! I finished my first sprint triathlon at the Cranberry Trifest yesterday. The race was a 0.5 mile pond swim, followed by a 11.5 mile bike ride, and 3.1 mile run. My official time was 1:28:00, which put me in the top fourth of my age...

Farfalle with Mushrooms and Goat Cheese Sauce

This pasta has Apolinaras’ name written all over it. I guess you could call him my muse from time to time. He looooves mushrooms and was so happy when I encouraged him to go ahead and put the pricey fresh shitakes in the grocery cart the other day. When I told him I...

Truly Outrageous Baked Sweet Potatoes

I love Halloween and have gone as the rocker Jem of the 80s hit cartoon Jem and the Holograms three years in a row now. I have no shame, I loved Jem growing up and adore the costume so much that I may even use it again at some point! I have very fond memories of...