Cooking in the Fast Lane: Steak Pinwheels on Bed of Spinach

Since I'm still relatively new at this cooking thing, I am not very confident in a crunch. I need practically an entire day to prepare a 30-minute meal. Neither have I advanced to any recipe that calls for "kitchen twine". Recently when I wanted a little zsa zsa zsu but from my own kitchen and in a hurry, I summoned the hours spent watching Ina and for the mellowness of Nigella to see me through.

I selected steak pinwheels over a bed of spinach. The pinwheels were prepared for cooking with button mushrooms and Provolone cheese by my local grocery store and I did the rest. I was so proud! Doesn't it look fancy? I was equally proud of how it tasted.

Here's what I did:

1) Purchase steak pinwheel from butcher. Or, if unlike me, you are not afraid of kitchen twine, you can prepare your own. Here's a video for you. You can ask your butcher to butterfly the steak.

2) Preheat oven to 400-degrees. Brush both sides of steak with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Gently place steak in pan over high heat to sear for 1-2 minutes or until brown.

3) In baking dish, add pre-washed baby spinach leaves. Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Sliver one clove of garlic and add. Toss to cover spinach leaves. Place seared steak on top of spinach leaves. Remember: Spinach wilts when heated so you will need lots of spinach leaves for an adequate serving.

4) Cook in preheated oven for 12 minutes or longer. 

5) Remove from pan and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes. I left the spinach in the pan until time to plate, stirring occasionally, since it loses its heat so quickly. Remove the twine carefully and serve.

Did I mention I like my steak rare? Flank steak is not known for being a tender cut of beef and braising is usually the recommended method of cooking. By cooking this quickly on a high heat and only to rare, I was able to achieve some tenderness. By allowing the meat to rest before slicing, it maintained its juiciness.

A side of roasted red peppers, onions, and thinly sliced potatoes rounded out the meal. Dessert was a scoop of black cherry ice cream drizzled with chocolate syrup.  

Zsa zsa zsu? Accomplished.