Italian Party Flank Steak

Today I just finished reading Michael Ruhlman's book "The Soul of a Chef" and I had to laugh when I thought about last week's post, which addressed the habit of American restaurants undercooking vegetables. That exact topic popped up a couple of times in the book. Ruhlman was taught at the Culinary Institute of America that undercooking vegetables, especially green vegetables, was a no-no. And Thomas Keller talks about how to perfectly cook vegetables. It's a great read and has a lot of great behind the scenes stuff at The French Laundry, which was just fascinating to read.

This dish I am posting is an outstanding summer recipe because it's absolutely fantastic on the grill. It's a butterflied flank steak that is marinated and then stuffed with prosciutto, basil, peppers and Parmesan cheese. It's a great recipe, too, for a party because you can butterfly the steak and fill it and tie it way ahead of time and just keep it in the fridge until you're ready to throw it on the grill. And it is so delicious!

Italian Party Flank Steak

for a printer friendly recipe, click here.

Ingredients:

 for the Marinade:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine or balsamic vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper ( I use Montreal Steak Seasoning)
• 1 flank steak, butterflied

for the stuffing:

• 2 red bell peppers
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 6-8 thin slices of prosciutto
• a couple dozen fresh basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

to butterfly a flank steak:

Run a sharp knife through the middle thickness of the meat, leaving about 1/2 inch at the long end to make a "hinge." Flip meat open to resemble a butterfly. Place plastic wrap over meat. Lightly pound flat.

Combine marinade ingredients in a gallon size ziploc bag and add butterflied steak and let it marinate for 2 hours at room temperature.

Preheat broiler. Halve peppers lengthwise; remove seeds. Place, skin-side up on foil lined sheet. Broil until skins are charred black.

Put peppers in a paper or plastic bag for about 10 minutes to steam. Slip off skins.

After 2 hours, remove steak from marinade . Lay meat opened on a long piece of aluminm foil on a flat surface. Reserve marinade.

Place the 4 pepper halves on top of steak to cover it. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoon of parsley. Cover with prosciutto slices. Arrange basil leaves in a single layer over complete surface of prosciutto. Sprinkle the surface with grated Parmesan, a little salt and black pepper.

With the long side of the layered steak facing you, lift it from the foil and roll it tightly away from you. (I did it without the foil but if you have never done this before, the foil helps you along.) It should look like a jelly roll.

Tie the roll with kitchen string.

Grill the steak for about 15-20 minutes, depending on how you like the steak, turning every few minutes and basting with the reserved marinade.

Let steak sit for a few minutes before cutting off string and slicing.