My family loves steak, and I am not really the biggest steak fan to tell the truth. I do think a really well prepared steak can be delicious, but I don’t get that excited over it. 🙂 As far as steak recipes go though, this one had a lot for me to enjoy. I have never had pesto with avocado in it, and it was sort of a hybrid of guacamole and pesto sauce which doesn’t sound like it would work, but it does. I absolutely love fresh corn (I am from the midwest so you pretty much don’t get a choice on that) and so this lovely corn relish added a lot to this dish for me.
You can prepare your steak in whatever way you prefer. I used flank steak, but skirt steak would also work well here. I chose to sous vide my steak and then sear it, because it is easy to control the cooking that way, but this would be great grilled as well.
If you can’t find fresh corn, I would not substitute frozen or canned here. I had been thinking about what I would use if the store was out of fresh corn, and I think I would have done a fresh tomato salsa type topping instead. That would also go well with the avocado pesto.
Flank Steak with Avocado Pesto and Charred Corn Relish
Ingredients
For the steak:
- 2 lbs flank or skirt steak trimmed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp salt
- fresh black pepper
For the pesto:
- 1 avocado
- 4 cups fresh basil
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, walnuts or almonds
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup grated parm
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
For the corn relish:
- 4 ears fresh corn leaves removed and charred over your stove burner or under your broiler and cut off the cob
- 1 shallot minced
- juice of 1-2 limes to taste
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the steak:
- Whisk the marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Place steak in a ziploc or sous vide bag and pour over the marinade and make sure steak is well coated. Allow to marinate overnight or at least 1 hour. When ready to cook, if using sous vide, heat water to 132 and cook for 2-4 hours. Dry completely and heat a skillet over high heat with a small amount of oil. When smoking, add the steak and sear well on one side, then flip and sear on the other side. Rest before slicing. You can also use the grill or cook the steak on the stove top.
For the pesto:
- To make the pesto, combine the basil, avocado, cheese, nuts and garlic in a food processor. Pulse until small crumbs remain, and then with the processor running, stream in the olive oil. Add a little salt, pepper and lemon. Taste and season additionally if needed.
For the corn:
- Char the ears of corn until there is some blackening on the kernels. I use my stove top burners for this, but you can also use the broiler. When cooled a bit, slice the corn off the cob into a large bowl. Add the cilantro, lime, shallot and smoked paprika. Season with a little salt and pepper and taste and adjust as needed.
To serve:
- Spread some avocado pesto on the serving plate and top with your sliced steak. Spoon the corn relish over the top. I served with some salad on the side.