Grilled Beef Panzanella with Port Wine Vinaigrette

By polledl

If the weather isn't conducive to grilling outdoors, use a grill pan for the beef in this main dish salad. Open a bottle of pinot noir to accompany this dish.

Ingredients

• Vinaigrette:
• 2 tablespoons port
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons light-colored corn syrup
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Dash freshly ground black pepper
• Salad:
• 3 1/2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed French bread [4 ounces bread]
• Cooking spray
• 2 cups chopped tomato
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh pecorino Romano cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 (4-ounce) beef tenderloin steaks, trimmed (1 inch thick)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Step 1

Prepare grill.
Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare vinaigrette, combine first 7 ingredients in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.
To prepare salad, arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Lightly coat bread cubes with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 18 minutes or until toasted. Combine bread, tomato, onion, basil, pecorino Romano cheese, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Drizzle vinaigrette over bread cube mixture; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle beef with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place beef on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 3 minutes on each side or until beef is medium-rare or desired degree of doneness. Serve beef over salad.