Where's the beef?
Summer squash and spring onions stack up well against skirt steak on the grill.
By joining a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program in your neighborhood, your money goes directly into the pockets of small, independent farmers. It's a simple way to shop local, and can help attune you to the seasonal growing cycle of your region's crops, which in turn can make you a more informed consumer and cook. The weekly or bi-weekly 'farmshare' that you pick up or receive can very widely. Some programs include vegetables only, some offer fruit, some even include dairy, eggs, meat, pickles and preserves. With most farmshares, however, you can expect to start bringing home pounds and pounds of summer squash by June or July. Grilling the veggies alongside a supporting protein is perhaps the most simple, friendly approach.
Keeping a small herb garden on your sill, front porch, or in your yard can be a rewarding addition to meals all summer long (or all year round, if you're lucky); basil, mint, and dill are combined here with garlic, olive oil, pumpkin seeds and the green tops of spring onions. Doing this in two parts - first creating a pesto with the basil, seeds, and oil, and later adding in the rest - allows the fragrant herbs to multi-task: the basic pesto is reserved to serve on the plate while the robust, garlicky marinade infuses into the meat and holds up on the grill.
GRILLED FARMSHARE VEG WITH HERBED SKIRT STEAK AND PESTO
Pumpkin Seed Pesto:
1 bunch basil
1/3 cup roasted, salted pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon white onion powder
For the marinade:
1/2 cup Pumpkin Seed Pesto (see above)
Tops of two spring onions
6 cloves garlic
handful of fresh dill
handful of fresh mint
salt and pepper
For the vegetables:
1/4 cup Champagne Vinaigrette
1 lb skirt steak
1 lb zucchini - the variety used here is the heirloom Italian 'Costata Romanesco' variety
6 spring onions (read more here if you're not sure what to shop for)
Spring onions take to the grill nicely; just cut them in half lengthwise to keep the bright stems attached and provide a flat surface that can recieve some char.
First, make the pesto: combine carefully rinsed basil (sometimes it can be sandy, especially if it came straight from the farm), pumpkin seeds, olive oil, vinegar, honey, garlic and onion powder in a food processor and blend until a thick, uniform paste is formed. Add more oil if needed, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Next, create the marinade for the steak: Rinse the spring onions well. Cut the green tops off of two of the white bulbs. Reserve the bulbs, and coarsely chop the green tops. Combine a 1/2 cup of your pesto with those green tops in a large bowl or tupperware. Chop garlic, dill and mint and add into the pesto mix. Generously season with salt an pepper - remember, this will be your marinade so it should be a bit saltier than you expect. Add your steak into the bowl, and smear and pat the chunky marinade all over the meat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours.
Slice your spring onions in half lengthwise, keeping the greens attached. Do the same for the two bulbs that had their greens removed. Don't trim the thin, kinky roots off - keeping them on, even after halving the bulbs, will keep the layers of onion together on the grill. Halve the zucchini lengthwise. Put onions and zucchini in a large bowl, toss with vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper.
Prepare and preheat your grill, covered, on high for 10-20 minutes. Put vegetables and meat on the grill. Grill steak about 3-5 minutes on each side for a rare to medium-rare temp. Overcooking the Grill zucchini and onions until charred with grill marks, turning once, about 5 minutes each side, letting your steak rest in the meantime.
Slice steak against the grain into thin strips and cut zucchini and onions into 1-inch chunks, including the charred green tops. Serve with a few tablespoons of pesto on the plate to dip veggies in.
