+ Balsamic Steak Salad with Pickled Relish KNOCK-OFF Recipe from Granite City +
There is a restaurant here in Lincoln called Granite City and it’s one of our favorite date night places here in town. They have some really great items on the menu, but my all time favorite is their Steak Salad.
Sadly, this is not a regular menu item and that drives me nuts. Some times it’s there and other times it mysteriously disappears. There is nothing worse than craving your favorite salad just to find that it’s not always available when you want it. I decided I needed to take things into my own hands and recreate my favorite salad at home and that where my Balsamic Steak Salad with Pickled Tomato Relish began.
This salad is a perfect dinner salad, it has 5 components…
1 + The Steak +
This is super easy, all you need to do is grill up some steak simply with salt and pepper. I don’t even bother with the more expensive cuts of meat. Just a basic petite steak is perfect, just make sure to not over cook it.
2 + The Pickled Tomato Relish +
This was a game changer for me… If you love pickles, tomatoes, or vinegar, this recipe is for you! It’s super simple to put together a few days in advance and they keep in the fridge for a while so, a batch could last the whole summer if you like. I share my recipe for these pickled tomatoes HERE.
3 + The Croutons +
This salad has a lot of the same elements as a Panzanella Salad which is a bread salad. The croutons are a major element, not just an after thought. I make some fresh croutons out of day old French bread buy cutting it into large, but still bite sized pieces. I drizzle the bread with Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil and place in my toaster oven or oven at 350˚ for about 10 minutes or until they are lightly browned and dried out, but still a little chewy in the middle.
4 + The Cheese +
Every element to this salad is a must and the cheese is one of my favorites. I LOVE blue cheese. I always have some type of blue cheese in my fridge for just such an occasion. I’m not super picky so just your basic grocery store crumbled blue cheese will work, but it is a must!
5 + The Balsamic Dressing +
I use this dressing recipe ALL THE TIME! It’s great to mix up a large batch and keep in the fridge for simple dinner salads or I also use it as a marinade for chicken, steak, shrimp… really almost anything. It’s defiantly one that is good to have around. It was also perfect for my knock-off steak salad. Here are your ingredients…
+ Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil + Pompeian Balsamic Vinegar + garlic + honey + dijon mustard + dried oregano + salt + pepper +
- ½ cup Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ¼ cup Pompeian Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper
- Peel and finely mince your clove of garlic. Place a large pinch of course salt on the garlic and using the side of your knife rub the salt into the garlic creating a garlic paste. Scoop up the paste with your knife and add to a clean jar.
- Add olive oil, vinegar, mustard, honey, oregano, salt and pepper to the jar. Put on the lid to the jar and shake for 1 minute. Let dressing set for 10 minutes so that the flavors can marry and then add to your favorite salad.
- Store leftovers in the jar, place in the refrigerator for up to one month.
Now that you have all of the components, all you have to do is assemble and enjoy!
Disclaimer // This is part of a series of sponsored posts for Pompeian. I received product and payment for my recipe development. As always, all thoughts, idea and opinions are my very own!
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Granite City reminds me of my college days! Every once in a while when we were feeling rich, my roommates and I would head there to escape our typical college food.
I love steak salads, but don’t make them nearly enough!
Your pictures are so ridiculously stunning. That one of the tomatoes, honestly! This steak salad sounds amazing and I’m pining and making!