Grilled Flank Steak with Strawberry Shallot Salad and Strawberry Vinaigrette

Flank steak and strawberries might sound like a stretch until you have a forkful with charred beef, a cold berry, a pickled shallot, and a leaf of peppery watercress all at once — then it clicks. The vinaigrette is the anchor: puréed ripe strawberries cut hard with sherry and red wine vinegar so it lands bright and savoury rather than jammy. It's the kind of plate that makes early-summer produce feel like an event without asking for anything complicated.

How to grill

Start with the steak, because flank needs a little attention before it sees any heat. Pat it completely dry with kitchen paper — surface moisture is the enemy of a proper char. Rub it all over with the olive oil (2 tablespoons), finely grated garlic (2 cloves), smoked paprika (1 teaspoon), and coarsely ground black pepper (1 teaspoon), then season aggressively with salt. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Cold meat straight from the fridge refuses to sear properly and cooks unevenly through the middle — this rest is non-negotiable.

While the steak tempers, get the quick pickle going. Slice one shallot into rings as thin as you can manage and drop them into a bowl with the red wine vinegar (2 tablespoons), sugar (1 teaspoon), and a pinch of salt. Scrunch gently with your fingers to bruise them slightly — this speeds the pickle along — and leave them for at least 20 minutes. They'll turn vivid pink and lose their harsh raw bite, becoming something closer to the shallot equivalent of a pickled red onion.

Now the vinaigrette, which is the whole point of the dish. Hull and halve the softer strawberries (150g — use the ripest, most fragrant ones you have) and drop them into a blender with the sherry vinegar (1 tablespoon), red wine vinegar (1 tablespoon), Dijon (1 teaspoon), honey (1 teaspoon), the finely diced second shallot, and a pinch of salt. Blend until completely smooth, then stream in the olive oil (5 tablespoons) with the blender running until it emulsifies into a loose, glossy dressing. Taste carefully: it should lead with bright acidity and finish with strawberry, not the other way around. If your berries are very sweet it will need another few drops of vinegar to balance. If it tastes flat, almost always it needs more salt. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve if you want it properly silky; leave it unstrained for more texture.

For the steak itself, heat a grill, grill pan, or heavy cast-iron skillet over high heat until it's genuinely smoking — not a gentle haze, proper smoke. Brush lightly with neutral oil. Lay the steak down and leave it completely alone for 3-4 minutes. Resist every urge to move it. You want a deep, blackened crust to develop, which only happens with full contact and no fiddling. Flip once and cook another 3-4 minutes on the second side. Flank is thin, so it cooks fast — a kitchen thermometer takes all the guesswork out and is genuinely the difference between a tender, pink-centred slice and a chewy, grey one. Pull the steak at 52°C (125°F) for medium-rare; carryover will take it to about 55°C (131°F), which is exactly where flank wants to be. Any more than that and the muscle fibres tighten and go tough.

Transfer the steak to a board and rest it, uncovered, for a full 8-10 minutes. Don't tent it with foil — you'll ruin the crust you just worked for by steaming it. Resting isn't optional with flank; if you slice too early, all the juice runs out onto the board and what should be succulent becomes dry.

While it rests, finish the salad. Halve or quarter the remaining strawberries (250g) depending on size — you want roughly bite-sized pieces, cut at interesting angles. In a mixing bowl, combine them with the drained pickled shallots (discard the pickling liquid or save it for a future dressing), the watercress or rocket (80g), and torn leaves of basil and mint. Add a pinch of flaky salt and 2 tablespoons of the strawberry vinaigrette, then toss very gently with your hands — you want to coat, not drown. Dressing aggressively crushes the berries and wilts the leaves.

Slicing flank correctly is the final thing that matters. Look at the surface and find the direction the muscle fibres run — they run along the length of the steak in clear parallel lines. Hold your knife at a shallow bias and slice across those fibres, not along them. Thin slices, about 5mm thick, cut against the grain are what turn flank from a chewy workhorse cut into something that melts. Cut along the grain and no amount of resting will save you.

Bonus points

• Char the strawberries: Halve a handful of the salad strawberries and give them 30 seconds cut-side down on the hot grill pan before it cools. The light char against the remaining raw berries gives you two different textures and a hint of caramelisation. Let them cool before adding to the salad.
• Compound butter finish: Mash softened butter (40g) with finely chopped tarragon, a little lemon zest, and a pinch of salt. Slice a coin onto the rested steak just before carving so it melts into the slices.
• Smoke the vinaigrette: Cover the finished vinaigrette in a bowl with a pinch of hay or a small smoked wood chip, light it briefly, and seal under cling film for 2 minutes. The gentle smoke ties the dressing to the charred steak in a way that feels revelatory.
• Add crunchy pistachios: Toast pistachios (30g), chop roughly, and scatter over the finished plate. They add a buttery crunch that bridges the sweet berries and peppery greens.
• Upgrade the greens: Mix in young sorrel leaves if you can find them — their lemony acidity is extraordinary with strawberries, and they look beautiful folded through watercress.
• Use aged sherry vinegar: A 12-year aged sherry vinegar in the vinaigrette gives it a caramelised, almost molasses depth that standard sherry vinegar can't match. It's a small upgrade that transforms the dressing.

Serving

This is a composed plate, so treat it that way. Warm your plates lightly (cold plates dull the steak instantly) and fan the sliced steak across the centre of each in a loose row, overlapping the pieces so the pink interiors are on show. Pile the dressed strawberry salad generously over the top — don't be neat about it, you want height and drama. Spoon the remaining strawberry vinaigrette around the plate in a shallow pool so the steak sits in it, and finish with flaky sea salt and a grind of black pepper. A few whole herb leaves tucked on top make it look effortless.

For a more relaxed dinner, serve it family-style on a large wooden board: sliced steak down the middle, salad piled over the top, vinaigrette in a small jug on the side. It's an easier pour and lets people dress their own.

Pair with a chilled light red — a Beaujolais cru (Morgon or Fleurie), a Trousseau from the Jura, or a young Pinot Noir served slightly cool. If you'd rather stick with white, a dry rosé with real structure (a Bandol, or a Tavel) stands up to the char and picks up the strawberries beautifully.