Ranch Steak Bruschetta Salad

Category Winner: Desserts. "My family loves steak, so I wanted to make a version of one of our favorite Southwestern dishes that was lighter, healthier, packed with flavor, and not drenched in heavy sauce or loaded with salty seasonings." —Devon Delaney, Princeton, NJ

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• Salad dressing:
• 6  tablespoons  ranch dressing
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  prepared horseradish
• 
  Steaks:
• 1  tablespoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 2  teaspoons  ground coffee
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  ground cumin
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  ancho chile powder
• 4  (4-ounce) beef tenderloin steaks, trimmed (1 inch thick)
• Cooking spray
• 
  Remaining ingredients:
• 1/4  cup  chopped shallots
• 1/4  cup  chopped fresh basil
• 1/4  cup  chopped bottled roasted red bell peppers
• 1  tablespoon  fresh lemon juice
• 12  cherry tomatoes, halved
• 6  cups  loosely packed arugula
• 12  (1-ounce) slices French bread, toasted

Preparation

1. To prepare salad dressing, combine ranch dressing and horseradish in a small bowl; cover and chill.

2. To prepare steaks, combine black pepper, ground coffee, ground cumin, and ancho chile powder. Rub both sides of steaks with pepper mixture, and let stand 10 minutes.

3. Heat a nonstick grill pan over medium heat. Coat steaks with cooking spray. Add steaks to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove steaks from pan; let stand 7 minutes.

4. Combine shallots, fresh basil, bell peppers, juice, and tomatoes in a small bowl; toss well.

5. Arrange 1 cup arugula on each of 6 serving plates, and top each serving with 2 toast slices. Cut each steak diagonally across grain into thin slices. Divide steak slices evenly among the toast slices; top each serving with about 2 tablespoons tomato mixture. Drizzle each serving with about 1 tablespoon of the salad dressing. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

384 (0.0% from fat)

Fat:

13.2g (sat 3g,mono 2g,poly 0.8g)

Protein:

25.3g

Carbohydrate:

41.4g

Fiber:

3.4g

Cholesterol:

55mg

Iron:

4.2mg

Sodium:

565mg

Calcium:

88mg