Fajita Flank Steak with Peppers & Onions from Sheet Pan Suppers

The moment Molly Gilbert’s Sheet Pan Suppers landed on my desk, I knew that me and this book would get along. I instantly loved the adorable rounded edges that make the book look like an actual sheet pan and it definitely didn’t hurt that I had recently taste-tested the Thinnest Brownies recipe when our publicity director brought them to a meeting. (Taste tasted is a nice way of saying uncontrollably stuffed my face with about 10 brownies.)

Flipping through the pages of the book, I connected with Molly’s just-two-gals-hanging-out-and-cooking tone of voice, and even though we have a rule in my house that if you cook, you don’t have to clean, I liked the idea that I could make a beautiful, delicious dinner without creating an enormous mess in the process (that my boyfriend would later have to clean up).

First, I rounded up my ingredients:

2½ pounds flank steak
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from 2 to 4 limes)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Olive oil cooking spray
4 bell peppers (any color), stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
8 to 12 small (6-inch) flour or corn tortillas, for serving
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Salsa, sour cream, and sliced avocado

1. Next, I marinated the flank steak in a large ziptop bag with the garlic, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, sugar, red pepper flakes, and salt, reserving a ¼ cup of the marinade for the vegetables. I let the steak sit overnight in the fridge (Molly recommends 2 to 12 hours, but I left mine to marinate for a full 24 hours and it turned out beautifully!).

2. When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 450°F with one rack about 4 inches from the broiler, another rack in the center position, and another in the bottom position. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil, and mist it with the cooking spray.

3. Toss the peppers and onion with the reserved ¼ cup marinade in a large bowl and spread them evenly on the prepared pan. Roast on the center rack until softened and starting to brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Remove the pan from the oven and turn the oven to broil. Wrap a stack of tortillas in aluminum foil and set it aside.

5. Push the peppers and onion to the perimeter of the pan. Remove the flank steak from the marinade, allowing any excess liquid to drip off the meat, and place it in the center of the pan, surrounded by the vegetables.

6. Place the pan on the top rack and broil the steak, flipping it once, until it begins to char on the outside and an instant-read thermometer
inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 125°F for rare or 135°F for medium-rare, 3 to 5 minutes per side.

7. While the steak cooks, place the foil wrapped tortillas on the bottom rack to warm through. Once the steak is finished cooking, remove the pan
from the oven and turn the oven off. Leave the tortillas in the oven to continue warming while the steak rests.

8. Allow the steak to rest, loosely covered with foil, for 10 minutes before slicing it thinly against the grain. Sprinkle with the cilantro.

9. Serve the steak warm with the peppers and onion and tortillas. Pass the salsa, sour cream, avocado, and cheese at the table.

 

And last, but certainly not least: dig in!

 

Sheet Pan Suppers is available now from any the following online retailers:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Workman