Grilled New York Steak w/Avocado Salsa

 Sometimes my favorite things are the simplest things.  No frills, no fanciness, just simple straight-forward goodness.  With something like a New York steak, you don’t want to do too much to it anyway… the meat should be the star.  This simple recipe let’s it shine.  A very subtle rub, a light refreshing condiment, and boom, you’ve got a delicious meal ready to go in a matter of minutes. 🙂

The salsa is, simply put, a super chunky guacamole.  It’s a tad different from my typical go-to guac recipe (see it HERE), but the general flavors are the same.   I doubled this batch of avo salsa, and I’m so glad I did.  You will not be sad to have this stuff around… we didn’t even end up having any leftovers, but if we had, it would’ve been so good the next day served with some eggs, or atop some chicken tacos.  Orrrr if you’re freak avo fans like us, you’ll just eat it with a spoon straight from the bowl.  😉

Now I get to tell you the fun exciting bit!  This recipe is the first of a series I’ll be creating for Whole Foods… the two local stores in my area (Santa Cruz and Capitola) and I have partnered up for a new exciting weekly recipe share!!  You may have noticed that Whole Foods has a “One Day Sale” most Fridays, where a special item (usually a meat or seafood) is on sale for the day.  Whole Foods came up with this brilliant idea to help bring you, the shoppers, some tasty recipes using their sale product each week… this way you can take advantage of the great price AND have a delicious way to use it that day too!  I thought it was genius.  And lucky me, I was the person they picked to work with for this project, which means you’ll be getting lots of new recipes to try using their sale items each week!  We’re hoping it will be a fun way to bring the community some fresh healthy meals.  🙂

So when I heard this Friday’s One Day Sale item was NY steak, I knew I wanted to create something light, simple, and easy for all of you cooking at home.  You can’t go wrong with this… a nicely grilled steak with a delicious easy avocado salsa.  If you’re not a fan of avocados, try a chimichurri instead… it’s the best on top of steaks, chicken, potatoes, and pretty much anything else you could imagine!  (See my recipe HERE.)

You may like your steak more rare or done than we do n my home… please adjust the cooking time to meet your needs!  You can cook this outside on the grill, or inside on a little electric grill instead (I’ve done both, and both work perfectly well).  Don’t have a grill?  No prob… try THIS Alton Brown method that’s a for sure bet every time.

serves two

INGREDIENTS

for the steak…

2 boneless New York strip steaks, approx .75 lb each

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp chili powder

for the avo salsa…

1 avocado (see note below)

1/4 cup diced tomato

1/4 cup finely diced red onion

1/8 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves

1/2 Serrano pepper, seeds removed

1 lime, juiced (approx 2 tsp)

1 tbsp avocado oil (or olive oil)

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp salt

*for the avocado salsa- if you don’t want it to look like guacamole, get one that’s a bit on the firm side… still ripe, but firm!

DIRECTIONS

To make the salsa…

Chop avocado into small cubes

I find it easiest to make cuts in the avocado first, right in its skin

Then I scoop it out with a spoon 🙂

Unless you like things spicy spicy, I’d remove the seeds from the chile pepper first

Slice half the pepper into long strips

Then dice… it’s best to have these nice and small

 

Add all ingredients to a small bowl

Lightly fold to mix

(If you want the avocado to remain as ‘pretty’ cubes,

mix everything else first, then add the avo last)

Taste and adjust seasonings as desired

Refrigerate for now 🙂

For the steak…

Preheat grill- you want a high heat for this

Mix the oil, salt, and chili powder together in a small bowl

Rub it all over both sides of each steak

Lay the steaks on the grill- once you lay them down,

don’t fiddle with them again until you flip them- just a tip for pretty grill marks  🙂

Cook them for 3-5 minutes, depending on how you like your meat

(Flip after 3 minutes for rare, approx 4 for medium, or 5 for well)

Flip and repeat

If you like the criss-cross look, give them a quick diagonal flip at the end

I tend to rely on the hand test to see of my steaks are done… like THIS.

Let your steaks sit!  They need beauty rest just like we do!!

Give them a good ten minutes to just sit and be… I know it’s tempting to slice in,

but you’ve got to let it do it’s thing if you want a delicious moist steak!

When it’s ready, slice into those bad boys and get your plates (and bellies) ready…

Serve with a hefty scoop of avocado salsa and enjoy!!