A light and bright salad full of spinach greens, freshly sliced strawberries and avocado, seared steak and a simple lemon balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
Let your cut of steak rest on the counter for at least 30 minutes, or until it has come to room temperature. Blot the steak with paper towels to soak up excess moisture, then salt and pepper all over.
1 steak
Preheat oven on the broil setting.
Heat a cast iron skillet on the stove top over high heat, add a little oil and then sear the steak for 30-60 seconds. Carefully use tongs to flip the steak and sear on the other side for 30 seconds.
Insert a probe style thermometer into the center of the steak, and carefully transfer the skillet to the oven and broil for 3-4 minutes, then flip and broil for another 3-4 minutes or until the internal temperature is 5° lower than your ideal finished temperature (it will continue to cook a bit after being removed from the oven). Your time may be more or less depending on how you prefer your steak cooked. See below in the notes for the different doneness temperatures.
Transfer finished steak to a cutting board and tent with foil. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the salad ingredients.
Rinse and dry spinach and place in a large salad bowl. Set aside.
6-7 cups spinach
Hull and slice fresh strawberries and set aside. See tips in the post above about how to hull strawberries!
2 cups fresh strawberries
Slice avocado and set aside.
1 avocado
In a small bowl, whisk to combine balsamic vinegar, EVOO and lemon juice, adding salt and pepper to taste.
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, Juice of 1/2 a lemon, Salt and pepper
Add strawberries and the balsamic vinaigrette with the bowl of spinach and gently toss to coat.
Cut steak against the grain into 1/2" slices.
Divide spinach and strawberries between two bowls. Top with avocado slices, steak, cheese and slivered almonds. Serve and enjoy!
1/4 cup cotija cheese, 2 tablespoons sliced or slivered almonds
Notes
Thermometer: I highly recommend using the ThermoWorks ChefAlarm (affiliate link) probe thermometer to monitor the temperature of your steak while it's cooking.Steak doneness: Different doneness temperatures, for reference: