Ina Garten's Favorite Salad Pairs Perfectly With Steak

Steak is the uniquely poised protein that strides the intersection of easy weeknight dinners and fancy restaurant plates with equal aplomb. It can command triple digits in some of the world's best (or, at least, most expensive) restaurants. Alternatively, you can quickly sear it off at home for less by selecting one of many flavorful cuts that land on the more affordable end of the spectrum. But while your steak selection may be a no-brainer, some home chefs struggle to pick the proper side dish to complement their red meat feast. For multi-hyphenate celebrity chef Ina Garten, her preferred accompaniment to steak is refreshing, light, and delightfully easy to assemble. 

In a clip from her Food Network show "Barefoot Contessa," Garten prepares a simple arugula salad to pair with steaks cooked by herself and her husband and frequent co-star, Jeffrey. This salad is so simple, in fact, that it practically straddles the line between garnish and proper side. The hardest element of her dish is  the five-ingredient vinaigrette that transforms the leafy greens into a more substantial dish.

Although you could dress any salad with Ina Garten's lemon vinaigrette, peppery arugula is great for cutting through a steak's richness, much like a spicy peppercorn sauce does. The tangy citrus goes a long way in that regard, too. Garten's preparation combines a half cup of olive oil, a quarter of a cup of fresh lemon juice, a bit of Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Once whisked together, you can immediately drizzle over your pile of greens.

To top it off, Garten adorns the salad with some lovely thinly shaved parmesan. A vegetable peeler will create similar cheese slices with ease. And, while this salad is marvelous on its own, you can, of course, toss in any other vegetables, or even swap the dairy. Tomatoes would bring more tangy garden freshness, and crumbled chèvre would introduce a cool neutrality to the lemon's acidity. Even slices of fresh pair could incorporate a welcome note of sweetness. And, although this salad is an excellent complement to steak, it's also great to serve with a similarly rich chicken, pork, or fish protein.