Kicking off grilling season with a marinated Steak Salad with Fried Goat Cheese. The most tender grilled flank steak cooked to a perfect medium rare temperature, sliced thin and layered over mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, red onions, avocado with charred crostini’s and fried goat cheese medallions all tossed together with a simple balsamic vinaigrette. This salad is simple to toss together, and slightly elevated with some crispy goat cheese medallions that pair beautifully with a perfectly grilled steak.

This is such a great recipe to kick-off the beautiful sunny days to come. Still pretty healthy with a low calorie vinaigrette as to not overpower the taste of a well cooked steak and the crispy goat cheese. A light drizzle overtop is all that’s needed. let all the flavours of the ingredients stand out and fill your palette with fresh crisp flavours. 

STEAK MARINATE

I always choose a nice big flank steak as a steak that I want to marinate and grill quickly. Its a nice long cut so it can serve many and not too thick so it grills quick. It looks amazing when sliced thin against the grain to show off that perfect medium rare cook. The marinate helps to soften leaner meats that tend to be dry and make tougher cuts tastier. A little bit of fat (olive oil), some acid (soy sauce and balsamic) and some salt make a perfect blend to enhance flavor. The deep flavours will help to create a nice crust on the exterior of the steak from the sugars in the sauce which give it a nice presentation. 

FRIED GOAT CHEESE

All great steak salads have goat cheese. The softness and creaminess of the goat cheese slightly melts with the warm steak and the cherry on top of this beautiful marriage usually ends up being the balsamic vinegar. These 3 things are a flavour town explosion and always guarantee a successful meal combination. I thought it would be a little boring to do just crumbled goat cheese on this salad so I thought I’d bring it up a notch with some fried goat cheese instead. You can of course just serve it with the goat cheese as is, or even spread it across the toasted crostini’s. I am here to show you that there is another way to creatively present the goat cheese by frying it. First you want to chill it in the freezer so that when you go to cut it, it doesnt break apart and crumble. Also when handling it with warmer hands it can soften too quickly. It should take about 20 minutes for it to firm up. Then you can cut it into medallions, dredge it through the flour so the egg wash has something to adhere to and then from the egg into the breadcrumbs. Because they will fry up quickly, they can be shallow fried. Any medium pan with enough oil to cover the bottom and slightly up the edges will do. Flip the medallions once you can see that they are crispy and golden on the bottom to get the other side nice and crispy. You can do all of this while the steak is resting. It should take you about 10 minutes.  

TO SERVE

Once all the elements are ready- the steak has rested long enough and the goat cheese and crostini’s are cooked, you’re ready to serve. The steak should always be sliced against the grain to make the meat taste as tender as possible and not tough and chewy. Its hard to eat with the grain. I like to portion out the salads by directly assembling them as individual servings. I add the mixed greens first and place all the other toppings overtop. The last step is to just drizzle over some of the vinaigrette. A little definitely goes a long way here. You dont want to loose those beautiful flavours from the steak and cheese so about 2 TBS of the vinaigrette should do it. 

We hope you enjoy this recipe! If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it on Instagram! We love to see what you come up with. #thecommunalfeast Follow along our social media account on instagram for quick videos on how our recipes come together.

Print Recipe

fried goat cheese and steak salad

Marinated grilled flank steak sliced thin and layered overtop mixed greens, grilled crostinis, fresh cherry tomatoes and creamy avocado with a light balsamic and olive oil dressing.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time12 minutes mins

Additional Time1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr 22 minutes mins

Course: Salads

Servings: 2 -4

Author: the communal feast

Ingredients

• 1 flank steak
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
• 1 TBS balsamic vinegar
• 2 TBS soy sauce
• 1 TBS dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• salt and pepper to season
• 3 cups spring mix
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
• 1 avocado thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup red onion thinly sliced
• 1 half baguette sliced into crostinis
• 113 g creamy goat cheese log
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
• Dressing:
• 2 TBS balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 lemon juiced
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• salt and pepper

Instructions

• Steak marinate: Combine the olive oil, Worcestershire, balsamic, soy sauce, dijon, minced garlic and season with some salt and pepper. Place the steak in a plastic container or large ziplock bag and cover with the marinate. Allow to marinate refrigerated for 1 hour.
• Before prepping the goat cheese, freeze for 20 minutes to harden and for ease of handling.
• Heat the grill to high heat and brush with olive oil or cooking spray.
• Add the steak and reduce the heat to 350 degrees F. Grill 4 minutes per side for medium rare. Let rest on the grill off to the side without heat or remove to a plate. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. On the same grill, add the sliced crostinis brushed with some oil and toast until slightly charred on each side. About 2-3 minutes.
• Preheat a frying pan with enough oil to cover the bottom and shallow fry the goat cheese.
• In 3 separate shallow bowls, prepare the dredges. Add the flour, panko and whisked egg with a splash of water into each bowl.
• For the fried goat cheese: remove from the freezer and slice into 1/2 inch thick rounds. Dredge first in the flour, dunk into the egg wash, and coat both sides in panko. repeat until all the cheese is coated. I like to do 3-4 pieces per person.
• Once the oil is hot, shallow fry the goat cheese. Flip once the bottom starts to look crispy and golden brown. Roughly 3 minutes a side. Set aside until ready to serve.
• For the dressing: combine all the ingredients together into a bowl or mason jar and shake well.
• To a large bowl, add the spring mix, tomatoes, crostinis, and red onions, add a bit of dressing if desired or allow each to dress themselves. Toss together and divide amongst plates. Top each plate with a few pieces of fried goat cheese, steak slices and finish with more dressing.