12 Marinated Flank Steak Tacos & Herb Pesto

Dolphins swam by our dock a few nights ago.  Dolphins!  I spotted the first dorsal fin and squealed, calling my husband outside to see.  I won't mention that I may have been more excited than our neighbors daughter... a 3rd grader going into 4th.  She and her sister ran out to the end of the pier, I stayed back figuring I had to at least pretend (a little bit) that I was an adult...

We watched as a group (pod? flock? gaggle?) of 10+ dolphins circled the fish, pushing them closer and closer to the top and then race through the crowd to get their dinner or wait for the fish to jump right into their mouths (seriously, that happened!).  It was amazing.  

And then we had tacos.

I'm a quasi-vegetarian, (yea I'm not sure what that means either!) so I really loved how green this taco was.  The peppery arugula and that bold herb pesto really sold me on this taco.  I really wanted to try a cilantro pesto and this was what we ended up with.  A perfect balance of earthiness for me and some good old steak for him ;) 

Marinated Flank Steak Taco & Herb Pesto


Ingredients:

Marinade:
1/4 cup Olive Oil
2 teaspoons Red Wine Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Pepper
1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
1/2 Lime, juiced
1/2 Lemon, juiced
1 Flank Steak

Pesto:
(Makes enough for 6 tacos)

1 or 2 Basil leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh Parsley
2 Tablespoons chopped Cilantro
1/4 cup Walnuts
1 teaspoon fresh Garlic chopped
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Dash of Salt and Pepper

Tacos:
Steak
Arugula
Tomatoes, sliced
Pesto
Flour tortillas

*Marinate the steak over night or in the morning to cook later that night, the longer the better*


1.  Mix all the marinade ingredients in a zip lock bag and add the steak.  Squish it all around to mix and thoroughly coat the steak.  Put it in the fridge over night or all day.  I try to flip it over at least once about half way through so that every side is getting the good stuff.

2.  Grill the steak to desired doneness, medium to medium well is how we like it without the steak getting too tough.  I'm always amazed by how much flank steak shrinks up!

3.  For the pesto, add all the ingredients to a blender/food processor/mini chopper and blend until smooth.  You want the pesto to have a strong cilantro flavor to go with the steak, so add as much as you like!  And honestly, you don't have to pre-chop everything if you have a good mixer, just throw it in there.

4.  Slice against the grain and build your taco!  I love the tomato and arugula, and of course loaded with pesto :)

Enjoy!