August 26, 2020

Filet Mignon, Citrus, Mint, and Cilantro Salad

Filet Mignon, Citrus, Mint, and Cilantro Salad features tender marinated steak with a refreshing Thai inspired salad and dressing. This dish has Thai flavors but uses ingredients found in every supermarket.

The Equipment You’ll Need

A meat thermometer- an instant read thermometer, is in my opinion, a necessity for cooking steak. My family likes their steak fairly well done, so I like to cook my steak until it’s 160 degrees in the middle.
A cast iron skillet- I feel a cast iron skillet is the best way to get a nice brown and tasty crust on my steak. But, you could use any skillet.

The Ingredients for Filet Mignon Citrus, Mint, and Cilantro Salad

Fish Sauce- This comes in a bottle and can be found in the Asian aisle of your market. It smells quite strong and for a long time I was afraid to use it. But, be assured this recipe uses just a tiny bit, and really just imparts a salty flavor. Don’t let the fishy odor frighten you.
Filet Mignon- You could use whatever steak you prefer, but I used filet mignon since it’s a family favorite.
Fresh mint and cilantro- These add really great flavor to the salad.

How I Made this Salad

First, I marinated the steak.
Then, I went out to do some shopping and started to cook the steak in my cast iron skillet.
While the steak cooked I prepared the salad and the dressing.
I actually made one steak earlier in the day (so I could take its picture), and one steak right before dinner. I microwaved the earlier one, to warm it up, and no one even noticed it wasn’t freshly cooked.

This is a really great summer salad, because it’s very cool and refreshing on a hot day. As I said earlier, this salad has Thai flavors, but uses ingredients you can find at any supermarket. A lot of Thai recipes call for lemongrass but I can never find it. So, I instead substituted the lemon and lime zest. I hope you’ll try this delicious, flavorful Thai-inspired Filet Mignon, Citrus, Mint, and Cilantro Salad.

filet mignon citrus mint salad — Filet Mignon, Citrus, Mint, and Cilantro Salad

Filet Mignon, Citrus, Mint, and Cilantro Salad

Filet Mignon, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, and red onion all tossed with a citrus mint vinaigrette.

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 20

Marinating time 2

Total Time 2 50

Course Main Course

Cuisine Thai

Servings

Calories 540 kcal

Equipment

cast iron skillet
instant read meat thermometer

Ingredients

4 filet mignon steaks
1½ cups cilantro leaves
2 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 sliced English cucumber
4 cups romaine lettuce
½ cup sliced red onion
2 sliced scallions
½ cup mint leaves
¼ cup chopped peanuts
1 cup sliced tomatoes

For the Citrus Mint Vinaigrette:

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup lime juice
1 tbsp. mint leaves, chopped
2 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. each of lemon and lime zest
1 tbsp. minced garlic

Instructions

Marinate, for about two hours, the steak in one cup of the cilantro, the garlic, one tablespoon of the fish sauce, cayenne, brown sugar, soy sauce and paprika.
Toss together the lettuce, cucmbers, onion, scallions, mint, the rest of the cilantro, the tomatoes, and peanuts.
For the dressing, place all the ingredients in a small jar and shake them together.
In a cast iron skillet, on medium high heat, cook the filet until it reaches a temperature of 145 degrees for medium rare. Let the steak rest ten minutes, and then toss it with the vegetables. Add in as much dressing as you like.