Cuban Flank Steak & Mangoes with Charred Corn Tomatillo Salad

This meal screams summer to me from every angle. I'm so thrilled that corn, tomatoes, peppers, summer squashes of all kinds are in season right now. Not to mention cherries, apricots, figs(!!), plums and peaches (donut peaches aaaahhh!!). I think I go a little bit produce crazy every summer. I tend to overload our fridge with fruits and vegetables and to be completely honest, it stresses me out to see a fridge this full. BUT, I know I'll eventually eat it and since it's all good & nutritious food, I do need to relax a bit and not freak out over how much food there is in the fridge. In my defense though, I stress out because I worry I won't be able to get to it before it goes bad. But that rarely happens. I'm pretty good about being very organized with my meal planning and shopping. I just tend to eat a ton of produce during spring & summer and that's ok.
Makes up for all the carb loading I do in winter ;)

This was a really good summer meal that combined recipes from my two favorite books of the summer, Dinner: Changing the Game & Cook Beautiful. The steak & mangoes are easy to put together (not to mention delicious!), which leaves enough time to prep the charred corn & tomatillo salad. And I highly recommend the corn salad. It's a good balance of sweet and sour with a nice salty hit coming from the feta cheese. It's bright with jalapeño and cilantro and with the lime taking center stage on dressing, it brings all the components together for a fabulous meal. I hope you have a wonderful summer this year. I plan on doing my best to make it my best summer yet! :)

Meat recipe adapted from Dinner: Changing the Game, Melissa Clark
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
zest and juice of 1 lime
zest and juice of 1 medium orange (~1/4 cup)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 fat garlic cloves
1/2 small bunch oregano, leaves only
2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 lb flank steak
3 Ataulfo mangoes, peeled and cut into thin slices
Lime wedges for serving

Procedure:
In a small blender, blend lime zest, lime juice, orange zest & juice, olive oil, garlic cloves, oregano leaves, cumin and salt till a smooth dressing forms. Set aside 1/4 cup of this dressing and marinate the flank steak in the rest in wide shallow container for at least 3 hours (but ideally overnight). An hour before serving, let the steak sit out at room temp. Preheat the grill on high. Brush off the excess marinade from the steak and grill the steak on medium high heat for 4 minutes per side for medium (I went 5 minutes per side and it was slightly over medium, which is not to say it wasn't good but it doesn't have the contrasting pink color to make the plate look even more beautiful). Let the steak rest covered for 10 minutes while you prep the mangoes. Toss the mango slices with reserved marinade. Cut the steak against the grain into thin slices. Serve with mangoes and the charred corn & tomatillo salad from below. Enjoy your summer meal!

Salad recipe adapted from Cook Beautiful, Athena Calderone
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
4 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
6 green onions, white and pale green parts sliced fine (store rest for another use, maybe scrambled eggs)
1 jalapeno, minced
8 ounces tomatillo, chopped
4 corn, dehusked
4 radishes, quartered if large or halved if small and sliced thinly
2 jalapeños, sliced into thin rounds
10 sprigs cilantro, tender stems and leaves coarsely chopped
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled

Procedure:
Preheat the grill on high and grill the corn for 4 minutes on each side till char marks appear. It might 3-4 turns to get all sides. Set aside to let it cool (so it's easy to handle when stripping the kernels).
Make the dressing by whisking lime juice, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, honey and sea salt in the serving bowl you're planning on using. Add green onion, jalapeño and tomatillos and toss to combine. Let it sit at room temperature for water to collect. Strip the corn of its kernels and add it to the tomatillo mixture along with radishes, jalapeño rounds, cilantro and feta cheese. Toss gently to combine and taste for salt and lime juice. Add more of each if needed. Serve and enjoy!