While this dish may appear to be inspired by Italian or Spanish influences (which it is), it's also a take on one of my favorite Chinese dishes: spicy orange beef. I love to grill flank steak with a highly-flavored rub of garlic, fennel, salt and black pepper.
Ingredients
- ground black pepper: 2 Tbsp
- fennel seed: 1 Tbsp
- salt: 2 tsp
- garlic: 4 clove (crushed)
- sprigs rosemary, leaves stripped and bruised: 4 piece
- olive oil: 2 Tbsp
- orange: 1 piece (juiced)
- pinch cayenne pepper: 1 piece (to taste)
- flank steak: 1 piece (2 pound)
- olive oil: 1 Tbsp (or as needed)
- oranges: 2 piece (halved)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Grind black pepper and fennel seed together in a mortar with a pestle. Pour half the pepper mixture into a small bowl and stir in salt.
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Stir remaining pepper mixture, garlic, rosemary, 2 tablespoons olive oil, orange juice, and cayenne pepper together in a bowl.
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Rub rosemary mixture over both sides of flank steak, poking mixture into steak several times with a fork. Transfer steak to a resealable plastic bag and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Remove steak from marinade; scrape off and discard any excess marinade.
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Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
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Sprinkle reserved pepper-fennel mixture over steak. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over orange halves.
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Cook steak on the preheated grill until it begins to firm and is reddish-pink and juicy in the center, about 5 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 130 degrees F (54 degrees C). Remove to a plate to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing across the grain.
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Place oranges, flesh-side down, on the grill and cook until flesh is golden and caramelized, 3 to 5 minutes. Place steak and 3 orange halves on a serving platter. Squeeze remaining caramelized orange half over the steak.
