Garlic and parsley stuffed into a juicy steak make a perfect quick meal. The garlic cloves for this stuffing are blanched first and then chopped with fresh parsley to make a simple, fresh stuffing. Blanching gives the garlic a mild, sweet flavor. The water used for blanching the garlic has a wonderful flavor so I add it to the water for cooking the pasta.
I use a flavored, basil-garlic pasta and cook the broccoli with it for a very quick side dish. There are many different varieties of flavored pasta available. This one goes well with the stuffed steak, but any type can be used.
HELPFUL HINTS:
n Grass-fed steak can be found in most markets. Any type of quick cooking steak such as flank, skirt, sirloin or fillet can be used.
n Use the same pot for boiling pasta and garlic to save cleaning up time.
n The blanched garlic and parsley can be chopped in a food processor.
Garlic-stuffed steak
3/4 pound grass-fed strip steak
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
Remove visible fat from steak and make slits about 1 inch apart on each side to form pockets for the stuffing. The slits should be about 1/2-inch deep and cover the width of the steak. Place whole, peeled garlic cloves in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and scoop out garlic cloves with a strainer. Fill the saucepan with more cold water and bring to a boil for the pasta side dish. Chop the garlic and parsley together. Add salt and pepper to taste. With the tip of a knife or a small spoon stuff the slits in the steak using about half the parsley mixture. Set the rest of the stuffing aside. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the stuffed steak. Saute 5 minutes. Turn and saute 5 minutes. Salt and pepper cooked sides of steak. Remove from skillet to a cutting board and add the olive oil to the skillet. Add remaining stuffing and saute 1 to 2 minutes. Cut the steak into 1-inch slices and divide between two dinner plates. Spoon sauteed stuffing on top of slices. Makes 2 servings.
Nutrition information per serving: 234 calories (27 percent from fat), 7.0 g fat (2.1 g saturated, 3.4 g monounsaturated), 96 mg cholesterol, 40.2 g protein, 3.4 g carbohydrates, 0.8 g fiber,107 mg sodium.
Basil garlic linguine with broccoli
1/4 pound basil-garlic linguine
1/2 pound broccoli florets, cut in half (about 3 cups)
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Bring a large saucepan with 2 to 3 quarts of water to a boil, using the garlic water from the stuffed steak recipe. Add the pasta and boil 5 minutes. Add the broccoli florets and continue to boil 5 minutes. Remove 2 tablespoons of the water to a bowl. Drain pasta. Add olive oil and salt and pepper to taste to the bowl. Add the drained pasta and toss well. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Makes 2 servings.
Nutrition information per serving: 305 calories (21 percent from fat), 7.2 g fat (1.7 g saturated, 3.8 g monounsaturated), 4 mg cholesterol, 12.7 g protein, 48.7 g carbohydrates, 1.8 g fiber, 109 mg sodium.