All This in One Pan? It’s a Holiday Miracle! What’s cooking? Sheet-Pan Skirt Steak in a Balsamic Marinade with Broccoli and White Beans

Kitchen Goddess note: I know, I promised you some ideas for hors d’oeuvres to help your holiday hosting. But then I came across this dish and got so excited I had to move it to the front of the line. No worries, though – as I always tell my guests, the hors d’oeuvres will be ready soon...

The holidays are sort of a feast/famine roller coaster at our house. There’s that slow climb through testing four veggie recipes for this blog, climaxing with the Thanksgiving bonanza, followed by no dinner at all until a delicious turkey soup emerges from the leftovers. Then a steady slide downhill after all that cooking, when I can’t get energized about even turning on the stove. That’s when we have a week of takeout.

I’m finally rested from Turkey Day, so I decided to treat my hubby to a steak dinner. And about that time, I was perusing my pantry and noticed it included six bottles of balsamic vinegar. That’s right, six. Three of regular balsamic, two of fig balsamic, and a blueberry balsamic. Am not sure how I got to that point – probably the same way that I might end up with 30+ rolls of toilet paper: I’d notice one day that we’re low, and the thought is like an earworm – you know, one of those bits of music that play over and over in your head until you want to shoot yourself? Only in this version, every time I’d go to the store, I’d “remember” we need toilet paper. So I must have been through a period of “remembering” balsamic vinegar.

In any case, when I happened upon this recipe that used a half cup of the stuff, I had to try it. What a discovery. And at the rate I expect to repeat this meal, I’ll be needing more balsamic in no time.

How many ways do I love this dish?

1. The whole meal cooks in one pan. Get that? The whole meal. One pan. (Okay, you’ll also want a big bowl for tossing the broccoli, but let’s not quibble over numbers.)

2. The process – which included trimming and slicing the broccoli – took less than an hour from start to finish.

3. The deliciousness factor is way high because the meat juices drip down to flavor the beans and broccoli as they cook. Mmmm... And the marinade also works as a sauce for the cooked steak and the veggies. For maximum flavor, do yourself a favor – a flavor favor! – and get fresh oregano.

4. The concept is terrifically flexible: the meat can be hanger steak or skirt steak or flank steak, the veggies can be broccoli or broccolini or (according to reviews) Brussels sprouts or asparagus. And the beans can be any canned white beans: Great Northern, navy, cannellini. (Just FYI, the Kitchen Goddess’s faves are the cannellini, but all the store had this time was navy beans.)

My hanger steak, about 1.35 pounds

Kitchen Goddess note on meat: Of the three beef cuts used for this type of cooking, skirt steak and hanger steak come from the diaphragm. Both are prized for their flavor; of the two, hanger is thicker and more tender, so supposedly needs marinating for less time. That said, my butcher had only hanger available, and it was still a bit tough after marinating only 30 minutes. Next time, I’ll marinate a full hour. Actually, next time I’ll get skirt steak. Flank steak is leaner and not quite as flavorful, but responds well to marinating. All three – hanger, skirt, and flank meat – should be cooked quickly and at high heat. They’re best served rare or medium-rare, and should be cut in thin strips across the grain to improve tenderness.

Sheet-Pan Skirt Steak in a Balsamic Marinade with Broccoli and White Beans

Adapted from Rhoda Boone in epicurious.com, August 2015

Serves 4.

Ingredients
4 large garlic cloves, divided
½ cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh (!) oregano leaves, divided
1½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1½ pounds skirt steak (or hanger steak or flank steak – see note above; if you use skirt steak, which is long and thin, cut it into two short pieces, for ease of broiling)
1 pound broccoli or broccolini
1 can (15-ounce) white beans, drained and rinsed

Special equipment: An ovenproof wire rack that fits inside an 18x13-inch rimmed baking sheet

Directions
Finely chop 2 of the garlic cloves. Put the garlic into a large jar or medium bowl and add the vinegar, mustard, 1 tablespoon of the oregano, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and ½ teaspoon of the pepper, whisking to combine well. Slowly drizzle in ½ cup of the oil, whisking constantly to emulsify the mixture. Set aside ¼ cup of the vinaigrette for serving.

Place the steak into a half-gallon zip-lock bag and pour in the remaining vinaigrette. Seal the bag and massage to coat the meat with the vinaigrette. (Alternatively, you can place the meat in a shallow glass dish and pour the marinade over it. But that would mean dirtying another dish, wouldn’t it?) Let the meat marinate at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.






While the meat is marinating, use a vegetable peeler to remove the tough outer layer of the broccoli stems, and slice the broccoli lengthwise in pieces about ¼ inch thick. (If you have broccolini instead, slice only the thickest of the stems.)

Preheat the broiler and thinly slice the remaining 2 garlic cloves. In a large bowl, toss the broccolini with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, 1 tablespoon of oregano, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ¼ teaspoon of pepper. Lay the broccoli out on a rimmed baking sheet, and broil it about 4 inches from the heat for 5 minutes, then remove the pan from the oven.

Stir the beans into the broccoli and scatter the sliced garlic on top. Set the wire rack on top of the beans and broccoli. Remove the steak from the marinade and allow excess to drip off. Place the steak on the rack and discard the marinade.

Broil the steak about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. (If you use hanger or skirt steak, which are thicker, let them cook an extra minute per side.) Remove the pan from the oven and let the steak rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Meanwhile, divide the broccoli-bean mixture among four plates. Thinly slice the steak against the grain and serve with the reserved vinaigrette alongside. (Caution: The balsamic vinaigrette has a fairly strong flavor that can overwhelm the broccoli/beans, which have already been flavored by the meat drippings. So taste first before you pour on more sauce.)

Note that if you are more organized than the Kitchen Goddess, you can make the vinaigrette up to 3 days ahead.