Where's the Beef?

I don't normally eat a lot of beef when I'm trying to eat healthily. (Me + a week in Philadelphia = sweet baby Jesus, I need to go on a diet.) Also, beef is not the most environmentally friendly food. Sometimes, though, I make an exception, like yesterday, when I went to my local butcher and saw a gorgeous little piece of sirloin that I absolutely couldn't live without. To balance out the fact that I was eating a hunk of red meat (although, to be fair, one of the least fatty varieties), I decided to grill it - rare, of course - and put it on a salad with a light Asian-inspired dressing. Fresh, yummy, relatively healthy. Not bad for a Monday night.


Beef Salad with Mint
serves one

• one 4-5 ounce sirloin or filet mignon
• 2 c. salad greens, your choice (I prefer romaine)
  
• 1/4 c. minced fresh mint
• 1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 a small cucumber, thinly sliced
• juice of one lime
• 2 tsp. fish sauce (or soy sauce)
• pinch cayenne, to taste
• 1/4 tsp. sugar (or Splenda)

Preheat the grill or your broiler. (I used a grill pan on top of the stove.) Grill or broil the steak until rare or medium-rare about 8 to 12 minutes. Set it aside to cool. Toss the lettuce with the mint, onion, and cucumber. Combine all remaining ingredients, and toss the greens with this mixture, reserving about 1 tablespoon of the dressing. Slice the beef thinly, reserving its juice. Lay the slices over the salad. Mix the juice and reserved dressing, drizzle over the beef, and serve.