Warm Mushroom and Arugula Salad with Balsamic Strip Loin

I was sharing on Facebook the other day my sense of relief that I seem to have gotten my cooking mojo back. Over the last few months of summer I was beginning to think my creativity had been tapped out and after an unfortunate incident with a turkey meatloaf last week (don't ask) I was almost ready to throw in my oven mitts.

But then something magical happened - sometime around noon Saturday afternoon my mind began to conjure... "I wonder what ground coriander would be like on that?" And before I knew it, I was feeling creative.

Which leads me to today's recipe. I had a couple of nice strip loins kicking around and decided to marinate them in a lovely balsamic dressing with an end goal in mind to create a warm salad.

Served with Pesto Roasted Potatoes, this was a lovely meal!

 Warm Mushroom and Arugula Salad and Balsamic Strip Loin
Printable Recipe Here

Ingredients - Marinade

• 2 6 oz strip loin steaks
• 1/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil
• 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt 
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

Salad

• 4 cups baby arugula
• 1 diced tomato
• 8 sliced button mushrooms
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Place the steaks into a ziplock bag. Mix the marinade ingredients and pour over all. Seal well and refrigerate for 6-8 hours.
2. Bring the steaks to room temperature and grill 5-6 minutes per side. Let the steaks rest while you make the salad.
3. Mix the tomato with the arugula
4. Saute the mushrooms over medium high heat in 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil saving the remaining olive oil to finish.
5. When the mushrooms have begun to release their water add the salt and pepper. 
6. Add the balsamic vinegar, the remaining olive oil, and the garlic. Toss until the garlic is fragrant and then pour the warm dressing over the arugula and tomatoes.
7. Divide the salad into halves on two plates. Serve each steak, thinly sliced over all.

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Author:

Lyndsay Wells is a professional trainer, writer, and program developer with a passion for food and cooking. She is an award winning recipe developer, and a website ambassador for Kraft Foods Canada. Lyndsay believes cooking should be approachable and easy and has great tips and ideas for putting together sophisticated looking dishes that cooks of all levels can accomplish.

Visit her daily on her blog, The Kitchen Witch or on her YouTube Channel, CHARMED With The Kitchen Witch.