Grilled Steak with Tapenade

First of all my mom and I had our 2012 Pickle Fest this past weekend and it was awesome.  We didn't have time to pre-order our pickling cucumbers so we went to the Beaverton Farmers Market early Saturday morning and we ended up getting some amazingly small and perfect cucumbers for our day of pickling.  We only pickled 35 lbs this year but I think it will be enough for the year, in the past we have done 50 lbs of cucumbers and that is definitely a longer day.  From shopping to jar lids popping it took us 6 hours and I had fun every second of it.  In other news it is still very hot here in Portland, Oregon so I continue making lighter meals.  I adapted this recipe that came from the Food Network site and I will definitely make it again because it was so refreshing and delicious.

Serves 2

The Ingredients
2 petit sirloin steaks 
1 medium shallot
2 cloves garlic
1/2 sprig rosemary
1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon, halved
1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, roughly chopped
Salt and Pepper

The Process

1.  Preheat a grill or grill pan to high. Pulse the olives, shallot, garlic, rosemary, red pepper flakes, 2 tablespoons olive oil and the juice of 1/2 lemon in a food processor; season with salt and pepper.

2.  Pierce the steaks all over with a fork and season with salt and pepper. Rub 1 heaping tablespoon olive mixture all over the steak, then set aside, about 10 minutes.

3.  Meanwhile, toss the remaining olive mixture with the tomatoes, parsley, the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and the juice of the remaining 1/2 lemon in a small bowl.

4.  Grill the steaks until browned on one side, about 7 minutes. Flip and cook about 7 more minutes for medium rare.

5.  Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes.  Thinly slice the steaks against the grain and top with the olive-tomato tapenade.

Per serving: Calories 361; Fat 26 g (Saturated 6 g); Cholesterol 43 mg; Sodium 283 mg; Carbohydrate 7 g; Fiber 1 g; Protein 25 g