Steak Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

Steak and blue cheese is a classic combination like peanut butter and jelly. The funk of the blue cheese compliments the flavour of the steak like nothing else. Today's recipe takes that classic combination and makes it a salad, creating a wonderfully quick and filling lunch. This steak salad with blue cheese dressing is everything you want it to be and more. And, it is a lot less complicated than you probably think it is. So, let's get to it. You can always find the recipe directly below but keep reading for more details and information.

Jump to:

• The Steak
• Blue Cheese Dressing
• Cutting The Vegetables
• Putting The Steak Salad Together
• Making It Your Own
• Recipe
• Recipe

The Steak

Let's face it, meat-steak, in particular-is expensive. Especially now. So, if you are going to eat steak, you need to stretch it as far as you can. You can get two to three meals out of one steak with this steak salad. So, if steak happens to go on sale, or you want to splurge, you can get more bang for your buck.

For this steak salad, I used a New York Strip Loin. It was about 6 to 8 ounces or 170 to 226 grams. Season the steak generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Let the steak come up to room temperature for about 30 minutes before you cook it if you have the time. If you don't have time, don't worry about it.

Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Put the steak in the pan and cook for 2 to 2 ½ minutes per side. As long as your pan is hot, you don't need any oil. But, if you want, you can put a teaspoon or two of cooking oil in. Once the steak is cooked, take it out of the pan and set it aside to rest for at least 5 minutes. Resting is essential-it allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat, so when you slice it, those juices stay in the steak rather than running out onto the cutting board. If you'd like more tips on cooking steak perfectly, have a look at my chef's guide to cooking meat.

Blue Cheese Dressing

We have a delicious blue cheese dressing to go with the steak salad. If you don't want blue cheese dressing, you can use ranch or caesar dressing. I'll include my simple caesar dressing recipe at the end of the post. But, if, like me, you enjoy blue cheese with steak, then make this quick dressing.

To make the blue cheese dressing, get a small bowl and combine one tablespoon each of mayonnaise and sour cream. Add two tablespoons of crumbled blue cheese. Finish the dressing with a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix the blue cheese dressing well, then taste it. Adjust the seasoning as needed with a bit more salt and lemon. Use the dressing right away or cover it and store it in the fridge for up to five days.

If you'd like to boost the flavour of the dressing a little, you can add a few other ingredients. A teaspoon of fresh herbs like thyme, dill, or parsley will add depth and freshness to the flavour. A tablespoon of minced onion, shallot, or chive will add sharpness. One clove of minced garlic will add a garlic flavour. The point is that you can take this base dressing, add other ingredients and make it your own. Play around and make something even more delicious than I did.

Cutting The Vegetables

It's not much of a salad without vegetables. I know the price of fresh vegetables is through the roof right now too, but we all still have to eat. So, for this salad, I used about a quarter of a cucumber, half a green bell pepper, six grape tomatoes, a small piece of red onion and some iceberg lettuce.

The appearance of any salad is made less boring when the vegetables are all cut differently. So, I sliced my cucumber into thin medallions. The green pepper I cut into odd evenly-sized pieces. I cut the tomatoes in half and thinly sliced the red onion. You don't have to do all this. If you want, just cut all the vegetables the same. It's going to taste the same either way.

Putting The Steak Salad Together

To put the salad together, start by tearing the lettuce into bite-sized pieces. Top the lettuce with a few spoonfuls of the dressing. I'm going to stop here for a second. If I weren't taking pictures of this salad, I would have put all the vegetables in a large bowl and mixed them with the dressing. Doing that will give you even coverage of the dressing on the vegetables and a better overall flavour. Again, I'll leave that up to you.

Slicing The Steak

Finally, the steak has rested, the salad is plated. The last step is to thinly slice the steak and place it on the salad. I cut the steak in half to ensure even portions. Then, I thinly sliced the steak with my knife at a 45° angle. This is purely for presentation, but you're cutting the steak anyway. Why not make it pretty? Place the steak on top of the salad and get to eating.

One important tip: always slice against the grain. If you look at your steak, you'll notice lines running through it-those are the muscle fibres. Cutting perpendicular to those fibres shortens them, which makes each bite more tender. Cutting with the grain will give you chewy, stringy pieces no matter how perfectly you cooked the steak.

Finishing Touches

I like to finish most of my salads with salt and pepper. It adds just a little more flavour that wasn't there before. Then, eat away. If you want to bulk this salad up a little, some croutons would be nice, as would some red bell pepper or even leftover boiled or roasted potatoes. A handful of toasted walnuts or pecans would also add a lovely crunch and richness that pairs wonderfully with the blue cheese.

Making It Your Own

Whether you want a hearty lunch or light dinner, this steak salad is the choice for you. It's also a great way to use up leftover steak from last night's dinner. If you have some cold steak in the fridge, slice it thin, let it come to room temperature, and toss it on a fresh salad. You don't even need to reheat it-cold steak on a salad is perfectly delicious.

This recipe is also endlessly adaptable. Swap the iceberg lettuce for romaine, arugula, or a mix of greens. Add some crumbled bacon, roasted beets, or even some grilled peach slices in the summer for a touch of sweetness. If blue cheese isn't your thing, a simple balsamic vinaigrette works beautifully with steak as well.

This steak salad is one of my favourite ways to enjoy steak without breaking the bank, and it comes together quickly enough for even the busiest weeknight. The combination of a perfectly seared strip loin, crisp fresh vegetables, and that tangy blue cheese dressing is something I genuinely look forward to every time I make it.

Recipe

Recipe