Grilled steak salad with green beans and blue cheese

Total time: 35 minutes

Servings: 6

Note: From “The Bon Appétit Cookbook” by Barbara Fairchild. French green beans called haricots verts are perfect for this salad, but if you can’t find them, look for the skinniest American green beans you can find. The recipe does not indicate thickness of steaks. We used steaks about one-half- to three-fourths-inch thick and changed the grilling time accordingly for medium rare.

Salt

1 pound slender green beans, trimmed

6 cups baby arugula (about 6 ounces)

4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1 1/4 cups pitted Kalamata olives, halved

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Freshly ground pepper

3 (8- to 9-ounce) strip loin steaks

1 cup crumbled blue cheese (about 4 ounces)

1. In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the green beans until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain. Transfer the beans to a bowl of ice water and cool. Drain.

2. Prepare a grill (to medium-high heat). Combine the green beans, arugula, tomatoes and olives in a large bowl. Whisk olive oil and vinegar in a small bowl to blend. Season the dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Brush the steaks with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil; sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Grill the steaks to desired doneness, about 1 1/2 minutes on the first side and 1 minute for the second side for medium rare. Transfer the steaks to a work surface; let stand 5 minutes. Cut the steaks crosswise into thin strips.

4. Toss the salad with enough dressing to coat. Divide the salad among six plates. Top with steak strips. Sprinkle cheese over.

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Each serving: 503 calories; 33 grams protein; 14 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams fiber; 36 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 73 mg. cholesterol; 624 mg. sodium.