Ancho-Rubbed Flank Steak with Roasted Potatoes & Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette and Bacon

I don't normally do the standard "protein and two veggies" dinners, but this looked too good not to do. It was actually really easy to make as well. Even though the ingredients list looks long, I assure you it's really straightforward to throw together.

Ancho-Rubbed Flank Steak with Roasted Potatoes & Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette and Bacon

(from here)

Steak:

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon ancho chile powder (can sub chipotle, just watch for the heat level)

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 (mine was 1.65lbs) flank steak, trimmed

2 teaspoons olive oil

Potatoes:

3 Idaho potatoes

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon rosemary

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Spray oil

Salad:

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 cups arugula

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

2 cooked and crumbled bacon slices

==

I started my rub in the morning and let it sit on the beef until dinner. You don't have to do this, but I was reorganizing my spice rack/cabinet and decided to rub the steak.

Just add to a small bowl:

1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Give it a stir to combine everything.

Lay your steak in a baking dish of some sort so you can get the rub on.

Pour about half on the first side and rub it in. Really "rub" it into the meat.

Flip and repeat.

Cover and refrigerate until dinner. If you're eating now, you can cook it now. No problem.

==

The potatoes are just as easy.

I peeled mine, but they'd be great with the skins on. My daughter thinks potato skins are "dis-GUS-ting."

Just cut in half, lengthwise, then cut into chunks.

Toss them into a ziplock bag along with the spices:

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Spray with some oil and give them a shake.

Pour onto a sheet pan and give them another quick spritz of oil. 

Bake for about an hour at 400F.

You can toss them about half way through.

==

While the potatoes are going, cook up some bacon. 

You only need 2 strips for the salad, but I always make more because my daughter is a bacon feind. 

She already ate one before I could take a picture.

Just crumble them bacon and reserve for the salad.

The vinaigrette is also really easy.

Combine:

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

in a bowl/cup that you can whisk in.

Add the oil and whisk vigorously until an emulsion forms.

Dressing is done:

Slice some tomatoes and add them to a bowl.

Add the arugula and toss to combine.

Dress the salad with the dressing right before dinner.

==

When you're ready to cook, do it like you would any other steak.

I prefer pan-frying, but you can grill or broil this as well.

Toss the steak into a pan with 2 teaspoons of oil over medium/high heat.

Cook for about 5 minutes on the first side.

Flip and continue cooking until you reach the desired level of doneness. I prefer med-rare, so use a thermometer to determine if you are unsure. Try not to overcook the meat as it can get tough on you.

Pull the steak and let it rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes.

Slice against the grain:

Oh yeah.

Serve everything together with the crumbled bacon over the salad.

Overall, this was a very satisfying meal. The flank steak had great beefy flavor with the added smokiness of the ancho chile rub. It is a reasonably lean cut of beef too, so the fat that was there caramelized really nicely and added a nice texture element to the steak. 

The potatoes were really simple and tasted great. The salad added a nice acidic element to the plate and broke up the meat and potatoes nicely.

I have another flank steak waiting in the wings and I can't wait to do something else with it as it really turned out to be a great cut of meat that I don't use often enough.

Enjoy!