Why It Works
- Seasoning the steak with kosher salt ahead of time enhances tenderness and allows the salt to penetrate, thoroughly flavoring the meat.
- Flipping the steak frequently while cooking develops an even crust and cuts down on overall cooking time.
A good steak dinner doesn’t need much to feel special: a well-seared steak, a bright salad, and something tangy and herbaceous to cut through the richness of the meat. These elements come together quickly to deliver a balanced, satisfying meal. To me, a steak dinner is incomplete without a punchy sauce on the table. And when it comes to sauces that make steak shine, I turn to chermoula—the vibrant, herb-heavy blend of garlic, lemon, earthy spices, and olive oil that brings life to everything it touches. It’s fresh and endlessly versatile.
How to Make the Chermoula
In Morocco and elsewhere in North Africa, chermoula shows up in a variety of ways across so many dishes. It can be used as a marinade for meat, spooned over grilled fish and slow-cooked vegetables, or simply tossed with roasted potatoes. There are countless variations across the region—some red with paprika and saffron, others spiked with harissa, but the green herb-based chermoula is the brightest and most herbaceous among them.
As is traditional in Morocco, this version uses a hand-chopped approach. Parsley, cilantro, dill, and mint are finely chopped, then whisked with lemon, garlic, cumin, coriander, and olive oil. The texture should stay loose and glossy with visible flecks of herbs, not be blended into a paste. It should taste vivid and punchy, cutting through rich meat and seafood.
The Lemony Chickpea Salad
I always like serving a quick and easy salad with steak to round out the meal, and this chickpea salad is one of my favorites. The chickpeas add enough substance to make the plate feel complete, but still fresh and light. Here, they’re tossed with lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, and coriander, plus finely chopped red onion for crunch and a little parsley for an herbaceous note. Using canned chickpeas as the base, the bright and zesty salad takes just minutes to make and can even be made ahead.
How I Like to Cook Steak
I like using a single 1- to 1½-pound flank steak for this recipe—it’s easy to cook evenly in a skillet, big enough to feed a few people, and far more affordable than a ribeye or strip steak. Flank has a deep, beefy flavor and a pleasant chew when sliced thinly against the grain, which makes it ideal for a quick weeknight meal that still feels special. You can also use skirt or sirloin, both flavorful cuts that perform similarly and take well to high-heat searing.
For a great seared steak, no matter the cut, I rely on salting and high heat. Salting in advance draws moisture out, lets the salt dissolve, and pulls the salt back in, helping the seasoning penetrate deeper and leaving the surface dry enough for faster, more even browning. Even 30 minutes helps, but a few hours uncovered in the fridge is ideal if you have the time.
Cooking with a heavy skillet—cast iron or stainless steel—matters because it retains heat well for a better crust. Once the oil is just smoking, the steak goes in. Flipping frequently may feel counterintuitive, but it leads to an even sear: Each time you turn the steak, the side that just cooked keeps radiating heat, so you’re essentially cooking it from both sides in quick intervals. The surface of the steak never stays in contact with the pan long enough to overcook or scorch, and the areas not in contact continue to cook gently from residual heat. The result is a deep, even crust and a tender interior, rather than one side being at risk of overcooking while the other plays catch-up.
If one end of the steak is thicker, I press that section down briefly so it makes full contact with the pan, which helps it cook evenly. I also spoon hot fat over any pale spots while the steak cooks, so they catch up in color. I like my steak medium-rare, so I pull it when it hits that sweet spot—a thermometer makes it easy to hit the mark consistently.
Serious Eats / Vy Tran
Pulling It All Together
Once the steak has rested briefly, all that’s left to do is slice it and spoon the chermoula over it while it’s still warm so the herbs and juices settle into the slices and coat each piece. Serve with extra sauce on the side and a generous scoop of the lemony chickpea salad. It’s dinner in less than an hour, and it’s delicious.
