Grilled Steak and Papaya Salad

  

    
Papaya, along with mango, for me evoke images of summer, tropical fun.  Grilling a steak is always a summer activity, and a new marinade is always welcome.  Bobby Flay provides this recipe for gilled steak and papaya salad.  However, Bobby takes his papaya salad in a Thai direction that I changed.  Thai papaya salads use green papaya, the less sweet variety.  It is julienned, and sometimes mixed with carrots or other crunchy components to give it a cole-slaw consistency.  However, when I thought of trying this recipe I wanted to go in a sweet direction, like a mango salsa.  So, I chose orange papaya instead.  I do like the way Bobby added greens to give this more of a salad feel and a good pairing with steak.  However, I subtracted the watercress he suggests, both because I am not a big fan of peppery tastes, and I wanted to stick with a sweeter theme.  Feel free to add that back in if you like.  I also broke another cardinal rule of serving this with a white wine instead of red.  I chose a Picpoul de Pinet from Languedoc, France.  We have a local distributor who favors it so we can get it plentifully and cheaply, but any fresh light white would fit the midsummer heat.  Many times with fish I will serve an Orvieto, another clean, light, Italian, lesser-known white that works well with fish.  On the marinade, I highly recommend you add this to your retinue.  The base is peanut oil instead of olive oil.  There is some peanut taste, but the overall effect is a savory richness, which is nicely balanced with the soy, lime juice and honey.  So, try this recipe for your next summertime grilling event!  Serves 4.
     
Ingredients:
4 cloves garlic, diced
2 thai bird chile, chopped, or 2 pinches of red pepper flakes
2 tbsp soy sauce
juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp honey
1/4 cup peanut oil
1 london broil, hanger or other similar flank type steak
salt and pepper
1 shallot, diced
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce
8 large red romaine lettuce leaves, chopped
1/2 an orange papaya, peeled and julienned or shredded
1 carrot, peeled and julienned or shredded
1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts
cilantro, chopped for garnish
     
Directions:
In a food processor, mix the garlic, 1 chopped chile, soy sauce, lime juice, honey and oil until smooth.  Pour into a large ziploc bag and add the steak, turning to coat.  Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.  In a small bowl, whisk together the shallot, 2 chopped chiles, vinegar, sugar and fish sauce.  Set aside.  Remove the meat from the marinade and season with salt and pepper.  Over a medium-high grill, grill the meat until the desired doneness, about 10 to 12 minutes for medium-rare.  Remove the meat and while it rests, toss the the lettuce, papaya, carrot and dressing.  Slice the meat into 1/4 inch strips and serve with the salad.  Garnish with peanuts and cilantro.