This summer, I made it a personal mission to buy some fresh produce from the Moscow Farmers Market and make something tasty with it. There were a lot of options, from baby garlic to giant, two-foot-long squash, and I ended up walking away with a white cucumber.

The only problem is I really didn’t want a cucumber salad or a regular salad with some cucumber thrown in or some pickles. So I set out to make something that would be a featured part of a dish.

I saw some recipes online with a vegetable sort of salsa or relish served with steak so I experimented a bit and came up with this great summer steak dish recipe.

White cucumbers, to me, have more flavor than regular cucumbers. They’re nicer looking as their more neutral in color, and I actually enjoyed eating them plain (I hate cucumbers).

While this recipe was inspired by fresh and new produce, you can certainly do it with regular old cucumbers.

Sirloin Steak with Quick-Pickled Cucumber-Dill Salsa Recipe (serves two)

Ingredients

• Half of a medium cucumber (about a 1/2 cup)
  • Any cucumber will do, but I prefer white cucumbers which I find at the Moscow Farmers Market

• Half of a small red onion (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 cup water
• About 2/3 cup vinegar
  • I used red wine vinegar

• 4 tablespoons chopped dill (fresh or dried)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 sirloin steaks
  • I used thin sirloin fillets, I’ll give you the timings for thin fillets and full steaks — thin fillets will be in (parenthesis) after the times for the full steaks

• 2 tablespoons salt
• Pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Optional:1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic
• Optional: 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Optional:1 teaspoon fresh or dried parsley
• Optional: pinch of sugar

Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
2. Dice the cucumber and add it to a medium mixing bowl
3. Add 1 cup water, 1/2 cup vinegar, 2 tablespoons salt and 3 tablespoons dill to cucumber
   • Optional: add pinch of sugar, teaspoon of cayenne
4.  Stir and cover, then set aside in fridge
   • This is quick-pickling the cucumber
5. Generously salt and pepper both sides of the fillet
6. Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to an oven safe pan
   • I use a cast iron skillet
7. Once fully hot, add both steaks to the pan
8. Sear 2 minutes (1 minute) each side
9. Put into the oven for the following times depending on cooking preference:
   • Rare: 5 minutes (2 minutes)
   • Med-Rare: 6-7 minutes (3-4 minutes)
   • Medium: 7-8 minutes (4-5 minutes)
   • Well: 8-9 minutes (5-6 minutes)
10. While the steak is cooking in the oven, drain the cucumber pickling juice and add diced 1/2 red onion, 1-2 tablespoons vinegar (to your taste), 1 tablespoon chopped dill and 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • Optional: add 1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic and 1 teaspoon fresh or dried parsley
11. Once the steak is finished, remove and let rest (don’t touch it) for 7 minutes (4 minutes)
12. Cut against the grain, or serve whole, with the salsa on top and your side of choice

PS: this cucumber-dill salsa recipe with some olives, tomatoes, and feta cheese would make a great summer salad!