Flank Steak with Romesco Sauce

This Flank Steak with Romesco Sauce recipe is delicious! Homemade romesco topped grilled-to-perfection flank steak is definitely a family favorite!

If you’ve never had the pleasure of having Romesco sauce and steak, together… prepare to fall in love.

Only a few years ago if you were going to tell me that there’s a sauce that you can smother on a steak that elevates the flavor, I’d say yeah right and no thanks. I’m a salt and pepper kind of girl, well and then there’s that blue cheese and shallot butter from last year. But I’ll tell you what… if any sauce is going to be touching my steak it better be a Romesco sauce.

Essentially Romesco sauce is roasted tomatoes or roasted red pepper {I’ve done it that way too!}, a few toasted blanched almonds (that I did myself the other day!), plus lots of garlic, seasonings and of course olive oil. All of those get zipped together in a food processor until it is the most vibrant orange your eyes may have ever seen.

It’s sort of like pesto minus all that herbaceousness. The flavor is out of this world. I add ancho chili powder to mine so at first you get the smoky-heat from that, then your taste buds pick up the nuttiness of the almonds and the garlic swoops in and seals the deal. It’s a glorious cacophony of flavors that I’m sure you and your taste buds will enjoy. Thoroughly.

Start by throwing 12 ounces of tomatoes onto a rimmed sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil.

I almost forgot about the garlic! Grab one small head of garlic and slice off the top third to expose all of the cloves.

I shook the pan to coat the tomatoes with the olive oil and then I added the garlic to the tomatoes and gave the garlic a little drizzle too. Roast the tomatoes and garlic in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes.

Once the tomatoes start to caramelize… not burn, remove the sheet pan and let them cool a tad.

Peel the tomatoes and discard the skins.

The small head of garlic only needs like 8-10 more minutes in the oven. So I dumped the 1/3 cup of blanched almonds onto a small sheet pan with the head of garlic and a little more olive oil and continued to roast then for 8- 10 more minutes. Keep a close eye on these… they like to burn.

When the almonds start tuning golden, smell nutty and you hear some popping… then it’s time to remove them.

In the bowl of you food processor, throw in the peeled tomatoes, 1 small clove of chopped fresh garlic, and I squeezed out the cloves of the roasted garlic and added them to the processor as well. At this point, the aroma at this angle is making my mouth water.

Next add in the ancho chili powder, toasted and blanched almonds and a piece of stale bread. I didn’t have stale bread lying around so I lightly toasted a slice and called it good.

Give it a quick pulse (with the lid on, of course) to get everything going.

Then turn the beast on full blast and VERY slowly drizzle in the olive oil.

Stop half way and scrape down the sides before continuing with the remaining olive oil.

Season with kosher salt.

A tablespoon or two of red wine vinegar, depending on how much of a zing you want. Then taste and adjust any of the seasonings… i.e. more salt… more ancho etc.

And there you have it. A slightly, smoky, spicy, almond-y and tomato-y sauce that I could pretty much eat by the spoonful.

If you make this early in the day you can keep it cool in the fridge and then pull it out 30 minutes before you start the steak. Otherwise just leave it on the counter and pull the steak out of the fridge.

Grab a 1-1/2 {give or take a few ounces} and lay it out on a cutting board.

I like to trim off any big pieces of fat.

Lightly drizzle with olive oil and rub it all over the steak. It should have a light coating and not be dripping with oil.

Season both sides with quarter of a teaspoon of both kosher salt and coarse black pepper each.

Set it on an oven safe wrack or broiler pan and broil for about 5-7 minutes, turn and repeat. To avoid a tough flank steak, keep it at a medium-medium rare doneness.

Place the steak on a cutting board and tent with foil to keep it warm while it rests.

Then slice and serve with a dollop or three of the Romesco sauce.

Serve this Flank Steak with Romesco Sauce masterpiece with sautéed spinach or kale {in a little bacon and onion action hmmm?} or a veggie loaded tossed salad.

I swear this is not my plate… orrrrr iiiiis it?

Enjoy! And if you give this Flank Steak with Romesco Sauce recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!

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Yield: 4 servings

Broiled Flank Steak with Homemade Romesco Sauce

Cover your steak with a vibrant, smoky and nutty sauce. It's unbelievably delicious.

Prep Time: 45 minutes mins

Cook Time: 14 minutes mins

Additional Time: 1 minute min

Total Time: 1 hour hr

Ingredients

ROMESCO SAUCE:

• 12 ounces grape tomatoes, rinsed
• 1/4 cup of olive oil, plus a tablespoon or so for roasting
• 1 head garlic, plus one clove {minced}
• 1/3 cup blanched almonds
• 3/4 teaspoon ancho chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 slice stale bread, or 1 slice lightly toasted
• 1 to 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

FOR THE STEAK

• 1½ flank steak
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon coarsly ground black pepper

Instructions 

MAKE THE ROMESCO SAUCE:

• Preheat your oven to 375°.
• Slice the top third of the garlic head off to expose the cloves.
• Place the tomatoes onto a sheet pan along with the prepared head of garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in your preheated oven for 25 minutes or until the skin starts to bubble and the tomatoes start to turn golden. Remove and when cool, peel the tomatoes and discard the skins.
• Transfer the garlic to a smaller sheet pan, drizzle with a little more olive oil and add the almonds to the pan. Bake for 8-10 more minutes, tossing the almonds halfway through until they are golden brown and fragrant. Once the garlic head is cool enough to handle, squeeze the garlic head to release the roasted garlic cloves.
• In the bowl of your food processor add the peeled tomatoes, chopped fresh garlic, roasted garlic, toasted almonds, ancho chili powder and torn stale {or lightly toasted} bread. Pulse {with the lid in place} a few times to get the almonds slightly chopped.
• Scrape down the sides, secure the lid and with the food processor on, slowly pour in 1/4 cup of olive oil.
• Stop to scrape down the sides one more time and repeat with the remaining olive oil. Then season with the half teaspoon of kosher salt, and a tablespoon or more {to personal taste} of red wine vinegar. Pulse until relatively smooth but still with a little texture from the almonds.

MAKE THE STEAK:

• Preheat your oven to broil, line a rimmed sheet pan with foil and set a oven safe rack on top of the foil. Or simply use a broiler pan.
• Trim off any excess fat from the steak. Rub with the olive oil and season both sides with a quarter teaspoon of salt and pepper on both sides.
• Place your steak onto the rack {or broiler pan} and place in the highest part of your oven, directly under the broiler. Crack the door and broil the steak for 5-7 minutes a side, depending on how well done you prefer your steak. To avoid a tough flank steak, keep it at a medium-medium rare doneness.
• Once the steak has cooked, use tongs to remove it and place it on a cutting board, tented with foil to keep it warm while it rests for 5 to 8 minutes.
• Slice and serve with a few spoonfuls of the Romesco sauce over top.

Serving: 1g, Calories: 353kcal, Carbohydrates: 11g, Protein: 22g, Fat: 25g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 16g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 51mg, Sodium: 677mg, Potassium: 612mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 823IU, Vitamin C: 14mg, Calcium: 76mg, Iron: 2mg

Author: Laurie McNamara

Course: Mains & Entrees

Cuisine: American