The Perfect Paleo-Approved Homemade Salsa
I love mixing and matching different ingredients to make my own homemade paleo-friendly dips, sauces, and salsas. If you’ve never tried steak that’s been topped with the right kind of salsa, you’ve definitely been missing out. Once you try out this recipe you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about as this cucumber salsa is unbelievably good. It’s simple to make as well, only requiring four ingredients: cucumber, fresh dill, apple cider vinegar, and olive oil.
Cucumber has tons of wide-reaching health benefits. It’s great for your skin, it’s a natural headache remedy, it’s full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants and it even helps you stay hydrated thanks to its water content. (1) The fresh dill is chopped up and added in with the cucumber slices to provide additional flavoring and even more health benefits. Herbs and spices have been studied extensively and they have been shown to play an important role in preventing the development of certain cancers. (2)
Olive oil and apple cider vinegar round out the salsa. Olive oil has a moderate amount of monounsaturated fatty acids which help to protect your heart and cardiovascular system, reducing your risk of disease. (3) Meanwhile, the apple cider vinegar helps to lower your blood pressure, support weight loss, and lower cholesterol. (4) It all adds up to a terrific homemade salsa that’s not only unbelievably tasty, but incredibly good for you as well. After grilling your steak, top it with half of your salsa mixture that you’ve prepared and you’re all set to enjoy a satisfying meal that’s both high in protein and full of all the great health benefits described above.
How Do You Like Your Steak?
Cooking your steak at specific internal temperatures is key to preventing your protein from turning into a hockey puck. Salmonella, Escheria-coli (E-coli), and Listeria monocytogenes are just a few examples of food-borne illnesses that you could prevent just by cooking your food properly. We recommend a good digital thermometer and a temperature guide such as the one shown below:
- Rare – 125-130°F
- Medium Rare – 135-140°F
- Medium – 140-145°F
- Medium Well – 145-150°F
- Well Done – 155-165°F
This is one tasty way to enjoy a good steak. It contains plenty of protein and saturated animal fats (which aren’t as bad for you as you may think!) along with the added benefit of heart-healthy omega-3 monounsaturated fats from the olive oil. The apple cider vinegar content makes it easier to digest the beef and provides plenty of benefits for you as well. All in all, this is one of the more simple and straightforward paleo meals to prepare. And that’s exactly what’s so great about it; it’s nothing fancy but it gets the job done.
P.S. – If you’re concerned about eating beef because of the saturated fat content, check out this article that goes over why beef (and more specifically, grass-fed beef) is actually a great addition to a paleo diet.
P.P.S. – After reading through that article, you might be looking for some more great paleo recipes that use beef. We’ve got you covered. Check out a few of these awesome paleo-friendly beef recipes:
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pound cucumber, peeled and cut into 1⁄6" pieces
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp chopped dill
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 ½ pound flank steak
- salt, black pepper to taste
Directions
- In a bowl place the cucumber, apple cider vinegar, dill, and 2 tbsp olive oil and toss to combine.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Pound the steak lightly with meat mallet to about 1⁄2" thick.
- Season generously with salt and black pepper and brush with remaining olive oil.
- Preheat a cast-iron grill pan over high heat.
- Grill the steak 2-3 minutes per side.
- Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Slice thinly and arrange on a platter.
- Top with half of salsa and serve.
- Serve the remaining salsa alongside.