Paleo Flank Steak Fajitas with Plantain Rice and Chimichurri Sauce
These Paleo flank steak fajitas are broiled after soaking in a simple yet flavorful marinade, complemented perfectly by a bed of sweet-ish plantain rice and drizzled with a wonderfully spicy chimichurri sauce.
(Optional) Flatten steak with a meat mallet between two pieces of parchment paper. See notes for details.
Mix dry marinade ingredients (sea salt, freshly ground blank pepper, smoked paprika, and garlic powder), and rub into both sides of the flank steak. Add the avocado oil and lime juice and marinate for 30 minutes to 2 hours in the refrigerator, ensuring the entire steak is covered with the liquid. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes prior to broiling, allowing to come to room temperature.
Prepare the Plantain Rice
Peel and roughly chop the plantains.
**In a food processer, pulse the plantain pieces until they become a rice-like consistency.
Set aside until the flank steak is cooked and resting.
Broil the Flank Steak
Cook the steak (starting with the top side down) six inches under the broiler for 3-7 minutes. Your time on each side will vary depending on the thickness of your steak. Please read the notes for more help. Remove the steak from the oven, flip it, and put it back under the broiler until it reaches your desired doneness. Remove from the oven, cover with foil, and allow to rest.
Add the plantain rice, and fry until golden and crisp, about 3-5 minutes. Make sure each individual plantain rice "kernel" turns gold in color, or it will taste starchy. Use a wooden spatula or mix 'n' chop (or comparable knockoff) to keep the tiny pieces separated.
Once golden, remove from plantains from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Slice the flank steak thinly against the grain, serve over plantain rice, top with cilantro lime sauce and garnish with freshly chopped cilantro.
Notes
**Plantain Rice. Make sure to pulse the plantain chunks until they become rice-like rather than setting it on High and walking off. You will end up with mush.
*Plantain Color. Make sure your plantains are green or they will also turn into mush. They will still taste good, but you'll want to boil and mash them instead of ricing them.
Flatten it? If your steak varies much in thickness, you may want to flatten it with a meat mallet between two pieces of parchment paper. This will help it to cook more evenly. I didn't because I like my steaks medium-rare and my husband prefers medium. By leaving it thicker in the middle, we were able to enjoy varying doneness without having to cook part of it longer.
Use a thermometer! Use a meat thermometer to ensure you get the perfect doneness. I always use a wired thermometer that allows me to monitor my meat's temperature throughout its grilling, baking, air frying, slow cooking, etc. etc. etc. process. There's nothing worse than spending $50 on the perfect steaks and then overcooking them or having to chew your way through an overcooked chicken breast.
Cook time. Our steak was about an inch thick as its thickest point in the middle. We broiled it for 5 minutes on the first side, turned it and continued to broil until the thermometer reached 5 degrees below the doneness we wanted. If your steak is thinner, start with three minutes and then turn it.
Let it rest. Keep in mind the steak will continue to cook after you remove it from the oven and cover it while it rests for 10 minutes. (Yes, you have to let it rest or all the juices will run out when you cut it.) I usually take mine out 5 degrees under what I want the final temperature to be and continue to monitor it to make sure it gets there. You can always put it back in for a few minutes if needed, but once you overcook it, it's no bueno. (Be especially careful using this method on poultry to make sure it gets to that final, safe temperature.)