Flank Steak Stuffed with Swiss Chard and Manchego Cheese

I have been thinking about this recipe for the past year.

Maybe a little bit longer.

I was watching one of those Saturday afternoon PBS food shows last winter, dreaming about being able to finally cook in our renovated kitchen. At that point in time, it was totally a dream as we were living in two bedrooms in our house…one as a living room and one as a bedroom while the opposite end of the Red Brick Ranchero was, well, basically gutted.

But that’s another story. Back to the recipe.

This one involved Swiss chard, garlic and a beef tenderloin having a meeting of the minds and ending up in a beautiful red and green swirl on a plate with a few potatoes as a side.

I have thought about this recipe and thought about it and today decided, well if life doesn’t throw a beef tenderloin at you, it can at least throw a flank steak.

I butterflied the flank, laid it out flat and beat the you know what out of it with a rolling pin. Then I put a pile of garlicky sautéed Swiss chard and shavings of Manchego cheese in the middle and rolled it all up.



Browned it on all sides on top of the stove, ran it in the oven for twenty minutes, let it sit and think for five and slices of pure pleasure landed on our dinner plates.

Sometimes it pays to think about something for awhile before you do it.


Flank Steak Stuffed with Swiss Chard and Manchego Cheese

1 1-2 lb flank steak, butterflied, click here to learn how
1 bunch Swiss chard, rinsed, stemmed, chopped
4 fat cloves garlic, minced
Extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
About 6 thin sliced Manchego cheese
Preheat oven to 375.

Butterfly your flank steak or have butcher do it for you. Put steak between two pieces of saran wrap and beat it til of uniform thickness. Sprinkle with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat large skillet with a couple of swirls extra virgin olive oil over medium high heat. Throw in the garlic and let cook until golden. Add the chard and cook until it’s just wilted.

Take off heat and put in colander to let juices drain out. When cool enough to handle, squeeze as much liquid out as you can and put chard on top pf the steak. Place the cheese on top of the chard. Starting at the side of the steak closest to you, roll the steak tightly and tie with kitchen twine in several places.

Season the outside of the rolled steak with salt and pepper. Heat a bit of olive oil in saute pan and brown on all sides. Put in a small casserole dish, place in oven and let cook about 20 minutes at 375. Take out and let sit for 5 minutes or til reaches internal temperature of 130-140 depending on how rare you like your steak.

Serves 3.

Flank Steak Stuffed with Swiss Chard and Manchego Cheese