Chimichurri Skirt Steak and Twice Fried Plantains with Pineapple-Mango Salsa

After enjoying these dishes at Havana (Cuban cuisine restaurant) many times, I finally decided it was time to learn how to make them. I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that both were quite easy to make and could be prepared relatively quickly! One of my resolutions this year was to learn how to cook red meat better, so this dish was a perfect opportunity. These dishes are colorful and packed with flavor, and will surely impress your friends and family.

For the Chimichurri Sauce, you'll need:
1 cup packed fresh cilantro or flat leaf parsley (I used cilantro this time, but have used parsley in the past...both are equally delicious)
4-5 garlic cloves

1-1½ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

¼ cup red wine vinegar

¼-½ cup olive oil (depending on how much steak you have)

red onion to taste (optional)

2 lbs skirt steak, excess fat trimmed

salt and pepper

For the twice fried plantains with pineapple-mango salsa, you'll need:

2-3 green plantains

Vegetable oil

 

1 ripe mango

1 small can of sliced pineapple 

half of a red onion

1 small tomato

1 serrano, jalepeno, or any other type of hot pepper

palmful of cilantro

juice of half a lime

1 clove of garlic

Since the plantains take a little longer to make, you'll want to start cooking those first. But I'd suggest making the chimichurri sauce before getting started on those. I have perfected the art of multi-tasking by color-coding steps to their corresponding dish. Chimichurri Skirt Steak will be in Green, and Plantains with Pineapple-Mango Salsa will be in Orange.

Put all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well combined. Pour into small bowl and set aside.

Once you have cleaned out your food processor, move onto the pineapple-mango salsa.

Put the mango, pineapple, red onion, tomato, a few slices of the hot pepper (more if you remove the seeds), cilantro, lime juice and garlic in the food processor. Pulse a few times until all ingredients are well combined, but mixture is still a bit chunky.

Next, move onto the plantains. Peel the plantains and cut slices about ½" thick.

If you're like me and would rather be running around multi-tasking than have to spend more than a few more minutes being hangry, then this is the time where you turn on your grill and bring it to high heat.Salt and pepper each side of your steak.
 
Bring the vegetable oil to medium heat in large skillet and cook plantain slices for about a minute or until both sides of the slices are a darker yellow. See photos below:

While these are cooking, put your steak on the grill and cover with some of the chimichurri sauce. Be sure to reserve some for when you serve the dish. Cook each side 2-3 minutes.
 

Move slices from skillet onto a paper towel covered cutting board. Now, here comes the fun part...place another paper towel over the slices, then take the flat side of your mallet and smash each slice. They should look like this:

Return the smashed slices to the skillet and cook until both sides are lightly browned.

Back to the grill...lower to medium heat, cover and cook for an additional 2 minutes for medium rare. (If your skirt steak is less than ½" thick, skip this step)

When your meat is done cooking, slice across the grain and serve with chimichurri sauce as well as your plantains and pineapple-mango salsa.