Skip to main content

#ItalianFWT: Roasted Flank Steak with Zucchini-Mint Pesto with an Umbrian Merlot


This month the Italian Food, Wine & Travel - #ItalianFWT - blogging group is traveling to their twelfth region of Italy: Umbria. I'm joining for the just the third time and was thrilled to be heading to Umbria by goblet since I never made it there in real life.

Umbria is bordered by Tuscany to the west, Marche to the east and Lazio to the south. Partly hilly and partly flat, and fertile owing to the valley of the Tiber, its topography includes part of the central Apennines. Completely landlocked, it is the only Italian region having neither a coastline nor a common border with other countries.

http://www.italy-wine-food-pairing.com/

Poet Giosuè Carducci writes about Umbria, il cuore verde d'Italia, 'the green heart of Italy.'

Oscure intanto fumano le nubi
su l'Apennino: grande, austera, verde
da le montagne digradanti in cerchio
l'Umbria guarda. 

Follow along the Umbria journey with my other Umbrian fans; you can also chat with us live this Saturday morning at 11am EST on Twitter at #ItalianFWT.  Hope to see you there!

From the #ItalianFWT Group...

In My Glass...
I chose a merlot from Umbria. Falesco hand-harvests its grapes from the hills around Orvieto, ferments in stainless steel, ages in barrels for seven months, then bottles - without filtration. In the glass, the merlot was a deep garnet in color with an exotic blend of aromas. Blackberry, tobacco and vanilla play on the palate to a lingering finish.


Full-bodied and velvety, I thought this would pair beautifully with some pesto-covered beef. And, I was correct. Next time, I think I'll try a lamb dish with mint chutney.

On My Plate...
I was inspired to make Roasted Flank Steak with Zucchini-Mint Pesto. To fully embrace the Autumn season, I topped all of it with crisped shiitake mushrooms and softened fennel.

Roasted Flank Steak with Zucchini-Mint Pesto

Meat
  • 1 flank steak, between 2 and 3 pounds) 
  • 1 T organic brown sugar 
  • 1 T paprika 
  • 1 t freshly ground salt
  • 1/2 t freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 t ground cumin 
  • 1/2 t ground coriander 
  • 1 T crushed mint leaves
  • olive oil
Zucchini-Mint Pesto
  • 2 C fresh zucchini, cut into 2" pieces
  • 1 C fresh mint
  • 2 T fresh oregano
  • 2 T fresh parsley
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • juice from 1 lemon
  • zest from 1 lemon
  • olive oil
  • optional: freshly ground salt and freshly ground pepper
To Serve
  • 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced
  • 1 C shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • olive oil

Procedure
Meat
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place the flank steak on a parchment-lined baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, paprika, salt, cumin, coriander and mint. Sprinkle the spices over the flank steak and rub it in. Drizzle with olive oil. Then roast in the preheated oven for between 25 and 40 minutes, depending on desired level of doneness.

Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving. While the flank steak roasts and rest, prepare your sauce.


Zucchini-Mint Pesto
Put all ingredients in blender and pulse to a thick paste. If it's too thick, add more olive oil. If it's too runny, add more zucchini. Remove from blender and set aside until ready to serve. 



To Serve...
Soften the fennel in a splash or olive oil. Crisp the mushrooms and set aside. Here's how to crisp mushrooms. Place thin slices of flank steak on a plate. Spoon zucchini-mint peso over the top. Then lay softened fennel and crisp mushrooms on top of the pesto. Serve immediately.

Comments

  1. Looks delicious, I love alternative pesto's!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! That's steak looks awesome! Very creative recipe. I love the ingredients.👍

    ReplyDelete
  3. It does look delicious and the wine sounds great. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Zucchini mint pesto, sounds creative and wonderful

    ReplyDelete
  5. Since #MerlotMe is right around the corner, I wonder how the Italian Merlot compares to New World Merlots. That aside, it sounds like a wonderful wine and pairing!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé #Winophiles

This month the French Winophiles group is looking at affordable wines from Burgundy.  Host Cindy of Grape Experiences wrote: "Burgundy, or Bourgogne, is known for its wines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir... as well as Aligote, Gamay, Sauvignon, César, Pinot Beurot, Sacy, Melon in lesser quantities. Many of the well-known wines are quite expensive, but there are plenty of values to be found." Read her invitation here. And there won't be a Twitter chat for this event, so you will have to dive into the articles themselves to read about our pairings and findings. Here's the line-up... Wendy Klik from A Day in the Life on the Farm enjoys Domaine Chevillon Chezeaux Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, 2018 Paired with a Maple Pecan Chicken . Camilla Mann from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares her love of Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé. Jeff Burrows of FoodWineClick! explains why we should Look t

Homemade Lorna Doone Cookies #SundayFunday

Today the Sunday Funday group is celebrating childhood favorites. Thanks to Stacy of  Food Lust People Love , Sue of  Palatable Pastime , Rebekah of  Making Miracles , and Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm  for coordinating this low-stress group. Today Stacy is hosting and she's given us the following prompt: "Childhood favorites. Did you have a favorite dish growing up? It could be something your family cooked or a restaurant dish, even a Chef Boyardee canned good or packaged ingredients like Rice-a Roni or mac and cheese. Recreate THAT dish from SCRATCH for this event."  Here's the #SundayFunday childhood favorites line-up... Chili Mac from A Day in the Life on the Farm Ham and Mushroom Breakfast Burritos from Making Miracles Homemade Lorna Doone Cookies from Culinary Adventures with Camilla Homemade Wonder Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories K-Mart Sub Sandwiches from Palatable Pastime Kempakki Dosa from Sizzling Tastebuds Meat Chilly Fry by Sn

Quick Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

If you've been reading my blog for even a short amount of time, you probably know how much I love to pickle things. I was just telling a friend you can pickle - with vinegar - or you can ferment - with salt - for similar delicious effect. The latter has digestive benefits and I love to do that, but when I need that pop of sour flavor quickly, I whip up quick pickles that are ready in as little as a day or two. I've Pickled Blueberries , Pickled Asparagus , Pickled Cranberries , Pickled Pumpkin , and even Pickled Chard Stems ! This I did last night for an upcoming recipe challenge that requires I include radishes. Ummmm...of course I'm pickling them! Ingredients  makes 1 quart jar radishes, trimmed and sliced organic red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin slicer) 3/4 C vinegar (I used white distilled vinegar) 3/4 C water 3 T organic granulated sugar 1 T salt (I used some grey sea salt) 6 to 8 grinds of black pepper Proce