One question I get asked over and over on my social media channels is how do I cook a meal from scratch nearly every night of the week? I have a full time job in the city. My commute is about 90 minutes door to door ONE way. I’m asked “Aren’t you exhausted by the time you get home?”
The luxury of taking the train is that is when I am able to get my second wind. I check email, look at Pinterest for recipe ideas, and when I get off the train I am ready to go!
It also takes a bit of planning on my part. I typically know what I am fixing for dinner before I leave the house in the morning. I wanted to make a spin on a surf and turf for dinner, so I took a 3 ounce frozen tuna steak out of my freezer and put it in my fridge to thaw while I was at work. I buy this frozen tuna at Sam’s Club. I get nine, three ounce steaks for $17 – or $1.88 per tuna steak.
On Sundays, I also spend about 30-60 minutes meal prepping food. That includes cutting my vegetables to be used later in the week. For this dish, I wanted to make garlic green beans with a balsamic glaze. Because of my meal prep on Sunday, these green beans were ready to go.
My other kitchen love is my Lodge cast iron skillet. Um, I may be somewhat obsessed with them because I have about 11 of them in all different sizes. I have some just dedicated to grilling but I always keep a medium and large one ready to use in my kitchen.
I decided to start the timer to see how quickly this came together – I am happy to report 13:01 minutes!
Please cook this dish in the order I suggest, because you will want to cook your beef first and give it time to rest. I bought a $10 steak to use for this dish. I know some people we say “wow, that’s a lot for a pound of beef!” and it is – but good certified angus beef is worth it. But here is how I justify it. That 16 ounce steak is four meals for me. I’ll use 3 ounces for this dish, then use another serving for beef and green bean stir fry with rice, another serving for beef and bean tacos, and the final serving for steak and eggs for a weekend breakfast. It’s only $2.50 a serving, and last time I checked, not sure you can get a cup of Starbuck’s for that price.
Let’s cook! This is for one serving, but feel free to multiply it for how many people you will be cooking for.
Place your Lodge cast iron skillet over medium heat. Take ¾ cup green beans and place them in a microwave safe dish. I have a “fresh vegetable” setting so I just press the button and set it and forget it.
Liberally season your steak with salt and pepper.
Add a tiny bit of grapeseed oil in the pan, and cook the steak for 1:30 seconds per side for medium rare.
While that is cooking, use Everything but the Bagel seasoning (or sesame seeds) and dredge the sides of your tuna in the seasoning.
When the steak comes out to rest, add the tuna steak and cook for 1 minute per side for medium rare. Set aside.
Lastly, add the precooked green beans to the cast iron skillet, add a touch of water, salt, pepper and minced garlic and cook over medium high heat for 1 minute.
Take off the heat and drizzle with a teaspoon of balsamic glaze. You can find balsamic glaze in an array of flavors on your grocery stores vinegar aisle.
To plate: Slice the steak into slices, slice the tuna in equally thick slices. Place the green beans on your plate. After the green beans have been removed, add a pat of butter to the cast iron skillet and let it melt while scraping up any bits of fond in the bottom of the pan.
Layer the tuna and steak and drizzle the butter pan sauce over your surf and turf. Sprinkle with a bit of dried parsley, and add a dash of everything but the bagel seasoning on the green beans and dinner is ready! A nice pinot noir would go great with this meal.
This dish is so simple for a weeknight, but definitely company worthy for a weekend dinner party. It’s also a very healthy spring dish.
If you want to learn more about cooking steak, one of The Chopping Block's most popular hands on cooking classes is Steakhouse DIY.
Question of the Day: Do you surf and turf?