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Although in my previous post I mentioned that my husband and I rarely eat beef, it seems this week, we've had it two nights in a row. However, Foodtown had flank steak on sale for $8.99/lb. I can't believe how expensive this cut of meat has gotten over the years. I felt like having some grilled beef, so I got out my recipe for spice-rubbed grilled flank steak, which is a recipe by Ruth Cousineau from Gourmet Magazine, August 2001. 
This is another go to recipe for me. I've made for family suppers and dinner parties. Although the meat is to marinate for at least eight hours, I did it only for four hours, poor planning on my part. Despite the short period of marinating, the spicy mixture permeated the meat and was very aromatic. I had the meat come to room temperature a bit before grilling. I grilled it eight minutes per side and it was perfect, a little rare in the center.

As I had some lentils left over from the weekend, I scoured the epicurious.com website for a recipe I could use for my cooked lentils. I came across lentil salad with tomato and dill. The recipe appeared in Gourmet Magazine August 2005. I tweaked the recipe since my lentils were already cooked. I added chopped garlic and dried dill instead of fresh. I had to amp up the salt a bit as I cooked my lentils in plain water. I must say, the lentil salad was terrific. I used both the basil and heirloom tomatoes from our garden. It was a great alternative to potatoes. I rounded out our sides with sweet, white corn from Matt's Farm Market (65¢ an ear, when purchasing less than a dozen). 
Spice-Rubbed ​Grilled Flank Steak
​Recipe by Ruth Cousineau
“Gourmet Magazine,” August 2001
 
Active Time: 25 minutes
Start to Finish: 9-1/2 hours (including marinating)
 
Ingredients
2 large garlic cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 lb. flank steak, trimmed
Accompaniment: Mixed cherry tomatoes with tamarind dressing
 
Preparation
  1. Mash garlic and ginger to a paste with salt and spices using a mortar and pestle (or mince and mash with a large knife). Pat steak dry, then rub paste all over and marinate steak, covered and chilled, at least 8 hours.
  2. Prepare grill for cooking.
  3. Bring steak to room temperature (do not leave out longer than 1 hour). When fire is hot (you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack 1 to 2 seconds), grill steak on lightly oiled grill rack 5 to 8 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Transfer steak to a cutting board and let stand 10 minutes.
  4. Holding knife at a 45-degree angle, cut steak across the grain into thin slices.
 
Cook's notes:
• Steak can be marinated up to 2 days.
• Steak can be grilled in a hot lightly oiled well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderately.