Mediterranean Steak Salad

Years ago, Panera had a steak and bleu cheese salad that I loved and wanted to recreate at home but with feta cheese instead. That’s how I came up with this Mediterranean Steak Salad, which is packed with fresh ingredients. If you can grill your steak, that ups the flavors even more.

Mediterranean Steak Salad

There are a couple of ways I would describe this recipe. You could call it a steak feta salad or a flank steak salad with feta cheese. If you really want to recreate that Panera Bread offering, it would be a Greek steak bowl. But no matter what you call it, I think you’re going to love all of the Mediterranean flavors that come together here, including my favorite, feta cheese, plus briny Kalamata olives. For fun, you might even add a dollop of hummus to the side, though that will affect the carb count for this entire dish.

Ingredients

Here you will find two groupings of ingredients. The first is the salad dressing which also doubles as a low-carb meat marinade. After that are the salad ingredients, including vegetables and steak.

Dressing Ingredients

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

Salad Ingredients

• 1 pound strip steak approximately 1 1/2 in thick
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large avocado chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 4 cups mixed salad greens or other lettuce of choice
• 1 cucumber chopped
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half
• 1/2 medium red onion thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup Kalamata olives sliced
• 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbled

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, and Italian seasoning. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste, and whisk to combine. Set aside.
2. Add the steak to a large, sealable freezer bag. Pour half of the balsamic dressing on top and seal tightly. Gently turn the bag to make sure the steak is thoroughly coated in the marinade. Marinate the steak for at least 30 minutes at room temperature — but not more than 2 hours — or place in the refrigerator overnight. Transfer the remaining half of the dressing to an airtight container and set aside until ready to use.
3. When ready to prepare the salad, place the top oven rack in the center position and preheat the oven to 400 F.
4. Turn exhaust fan to the highest setting and heat olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over high heat. Remove steak from marinade and discard the bag. Add the steak to the hot skillet and sear on all sides, approximately 2 minutes per side.
5. Transfer skillet to the pre-heated oven and roast the steak to the desired level of doneness, approximately 8 minutes for medium-rare.
6. Remove steak from oven and transfer to plate. Cover loosely and set aside to rest for 5-10 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, toss the freshly chopped avocado with the lemon juice to prevent browning. Set aside.
8. Layer the mixed salad greens, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, olives, and avocado on a large serving platter and season with salt and black pepper, to taste.
9. Once the steak is rested, slice into thin strips and place on top of the salad. Top with crumbled Feta cheese and serve immediately with the remaining balsamic dressing on the side. Enjoy!

Notes

Use an instant-read thermometer to check for doneness. The steak should be 5- 10 F below desired temp (e.g., 135 F for medium-rare) when removed from the oven. The internal temp will continue to rise while resting.

Speaking of the oven, you don’t have to cook the steak in a skillet and then the oven. You can do the whole thing on the grill if you want.

The recipe calls for strip steak but you could easily substitute a flank steak. Both are some of the best cuts of beef.

If you find that the carb count for this Mediterranean steak salad is higher than you’d like, then skip the avocado altogether. That will save 17 grams of carbs for the entire recipe or approximately 4.5 g of carbs per person.