Recipe: Broiled Steak & Asparagus with Feta Cream Sauce
Here’s a super quick dinner for your springtime arsenal — meaty sirloin tip steaks (sometimes called “charcoal steaks” or “knuckle steaks,” depending on where you live) cook oh-so-quickly on a wire rack under the broiler, while the asparagus below soaks up all of the flavorful juices from the meat. An easy blender sauce with punchy chives and feta makes a great accompaniment.
Broiled Steak & Asparagus with Feta Cream Sauce
Serves 4
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
Olive oil cooking spray
- 2 bunches
asparagus (about 2 pounds)
- 5 tablespoons
extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoon
kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
- 2
sirloin tip steaks (each 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick; about 2 1/4 pounds total)
- 1 cup
(about 6 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 cup
sour cream
- 2 tablespoons
apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup
finely chopped fresh chives
Instructions
Preheat the broiler with a rack about 4 inches from the heat. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and mist a wire rack about the size of the sheet pan with cooking spray.
Snap off the bottom of one asparagus spear, to see where it breaks easily. Line up the rest of the bunch and slice off the bottoms at the same spot. Place the trimmed asparagus on the prepared pan, drizzle with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and toss to coat. Arrange the asparagus in a single layer around the perimeter of the pan and set the wire rack on top, nudging the asparagus aside as needed so the rack lies flat and even.
Blot the steaks dry with a paper towel. Season both sides with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place the steaks on the wire rack.
Place the pan under the broiler (the steaks should be about an inch from the heat). Broil, flipping the steaks once, until well browned and charred at the edges, 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. (If you prefer your steak more or less done, adjust the cooking time accordingly.)
While the steaks and asparagus cook, make the feta cream sauce: Combine the feta cheese, sour cream, remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and cider vinegar in a food processor or blender. Puree the ingredients until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste and give the sauce one last pulse. Pour the sauce into a bowl and fold in the chives.
Remove the pan from the broiler and allow the steak and asparagus to rest for 10 minutes on the rack. Transfer the steak to a cutting board before slicing it thinly against the grain. Serve the steak and asparagus with the feta cream sauce.
Recipe Notes
Reprinted from Sheet Pan Suppers. Copyright © 2014 by Molly Gilbert. Published by Workman Publishing Company.
Tester’s Notes
I’d never cooked sirloin steaks before, but now I’m converted to this budget cut! Broiling the steak right over asparagus means the asparagus gets basted in some of the tasty meat juices, and the rack helped elevate the steak even closer to the broiler heating element.
You can make the feta cream sauce up to a day ahead, and once you do that, cooking the asparagus and steak is a cinch.
– Christine, April 2015
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