Merken Mapuche Spiced Flat Iron Steak

This is what's for dinner. It is over 100°, no one is in the mood for heavy food. So quick, fresh and easy, please. I bought a flat iron steak and was tired of the Asian marinades I have been cooking all summer. I was in the mood for a little spice. Enter, Merken. This is a Mapuche Spice from Chile. It uses Goat's Horn Chile Peppers, coriander seed, cumin and salt. The peppers are sun dried after picking, and then are smoked in wicker baskets hung from the ceiling over a wood fire. They are then stone ground and mixed with the other spices, although the chile is the predominant flavor. It is not hot at all, just smoky and complex.

I made a mixture of
2 T Merken
1 clove of garlic minced
2 T brown sugar
1 T cider vinegar
1 T Worcestershire.
Make this into a paste and cover both sides of the flat iron. Let the steak chill, wrapped well for at least an hour. Over a hot grill, cook the steak for about 4 minutes each side. It is best hot and medium rare in the center. It will be prone to burning because of the brown sugar, so keep an eye on it.
We are having ours with pico de gallo. The garden is bursting with jalepenos, so I whipped this up. Delicious and cool with the meat, delicious with tortilla chips before dinner even gets to the table. I use a chopper from you-know-where, and that is why everything is precisely the same size. I know Gordon Ramsay would kick my lazy little behind out of the kitchen for not chopping them by hand, but boy, it is SO easy this way! Notice my grapefruit spoon, it does a great job seeding tomatoes and peppers!

Pico
1 large tomato, seeded, diced
4 jalepeno peppers, seeded, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded, diced
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
1 sweet onion, diced
Juice of one lime
Salt and Pepper

Does it get any easier than that? I plated it up with a little quinoa I made a few nights ago. I love summer eating! Get out there and grill!

What's for Dinner?

There's a loaded question. If I say chicken, everyone groans. If I say chicken Caesar salad or chicken fajitas, everyone is happy. It is all in the description. Mondays are one day that there is no practice, I generally don't work, so I have time to think things through. I spoke to a friend on Sunday when she was cooking dinner, steaks on the grill and baked potatoes. Sounded delicious. My problem is I like rib eyes. The most marbled, fattening steak out there. And my family is not really into baked potatoes, although I like them. So I decided to take the idea and modify it.
I went to Kroger, where I never shop. They have a huge store here and I was awed. In the meat department I found flat iron steak. I have never seen this at my regular market, but I have seen it many times on the Food Network and Top Chef. So I bought a flat iron. My plan was to make a chimichurri sauce with it. Which is basically Argentine pesto. I also bought a head of cauliflower for mock mashed potatoes. Always a salad. And beautiful strawberries and angel food for dessert. Yum. I get all the taste I want for a little better nutrition.
I started with recipes, and then, well you know, changed them.
Flat Iron with Chimichurri
8 cloves of garlic crushed (be sure to pull out that little green root inside of it)
1/2 cup of fresh Italian parsley
a squeeze of cilantro that I have on hand in a tube, but you could use a few Tablespoons of fresh
1/2 cup olive oil
4 Tablespoons of sherry vinegar
Salt and pepper
Blend it until it is fairly smooth.
I put a few Tablespoons all over the steak and put it in a Ziploc and chilled it until dinner time. Take it out about 15 minutes before you heat the grill.

Mock Mashed Potatoes
1 head cauliflower, cleaned and cut
2 Tablespoons butter
Salt and Pepper
Steam the cauliflower covered over a pan of boiling water. When it is cooked, toss into a food processor and blend until smooth. If needed, add a little of the cooking water to thin it out. Add the butter and salt and pepper. Combine well. This can be made ahead and reheated. I don't think it tastes like mashed potatoes, it tastes better! Very low in carbs, has some fiber and you keep its nutrients when you steam vs. boil it.
Heat the grill to high, and let the meat come to room temperature. It takes about 5 minutes a side for medium rare.
While the steaks are cooking, take about 1 Tablespoon butter in a small saucepan and heat until it just starts to brown, add your chimichurri sauce and cook for a minute or so. When the steaks are done, let them rest a few minutes before you slice. Top with the sauce, a side of mashed goodness. Finish with a salad. Delicious!