Eleven ingredients and thirty-five minutes, and two of them go on the grill.
There is nothing underneath the steak. That is not an omission — it is what this bowl is.
Why This Recipe Works
- Making the sauce first means it is cold and thick when the hot steak arrives.
- High heat is what gives the char lines rather than a uniform grey exterior.
- Resting three minutes keeps the juices in the meat rather than in the bowl.
- Slicing thickly leaves enough interior to stay visibly rosy.
- Grated garlic disperses raw through a cold sauce where chopped would not.
Ingredient Notes
- Sirloin or strip steak
- A pound and a half, grilled whole and sliced after resting. Thick slices are what keep the interior visibly rosy.
- Zucchini, sliced into rounds
- Two medium. Rounds rather than lengths, and grilled until genuinely charred rather than merely softened.
- Greek yogurt with mayonnaise
- Half a cup with two tablespoons. Both together — the yogurt keeps it light and the mayonnaise is what makes it pale golden rather than white.
- Grated garlic, parsley and chives
- One small clove, two tablespoons and one. Grated rather than chopped, because it is raw and has to disperse evenly.
How to Make It
Yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon, garlic and herbs whisked, some reserved
Whisk yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, and chives into a pale golden-white herb cream sauce; reserve some in a ramekin for serving.
Steak and zucchini seasoned with oil, salt and pepper
Season steak and zucchini with oil, salt, and pepper.
Steak grilled over high heat to 145°F, rested three minutes
Grill steak over high heat to 145°F, then rest at least 3 minutes before slicing.
Zucchini rounds grilled until charred and tender
Grill zucchini rounds until charred and tender.
Sliced thickly and arranged with zucchini only — no rice, grain or greens
Slice steak thickly and arrange in bowls with grilled zucchini only; no rice, grain, or greens are authorized.
Sauce spooned over, a ramekin of extra sauce in each bowl
Spoon sauce over the steak and place a small ramekin of extra sauce in each serving bowl.
A Bowl With Nothing at the Bottom of It
Most bowls are built on something - rice, quinoa, leaves. This one is not, and the absence is deliberate: NO RICE, GRAIN, OR GREENS. Two components and a sauce is the entire dish.
The SAUCE - made FIRST, and it is TWO dairy items
1/2 cup GREEK YOGURT, 2 tbsp MAYONNAISE, 1 tbsp LEMON JUICE, 1 SMALL GRATED GARLIC CLOVE, 2 tbsp CHOPPED PARSLEY and 1 tbsp CHOPPED CHIVES whisked INTO A PALE GOLDEN-WHITE HERB CREAM SAUCE. Both dairy items are doing separate work: yogurt keeps it light enough to pour and mayonnaise gives it the pale GOLDEN cast - yogurt alone would read stark white. The garlic is GRATED rather than chopped because it is going in raw and has to disappear into the sauce rather than turn up in pieces.
The RAMEKIN - reserved before anything is spooned
RESERVE SOME IN A RAMEKIN FOR SERVING, done at the same moment the sauce is made rather than as an afterthought. A small ramekin of the identical sauce is set down INSIDE the serving bowl as part of the serving.
The STEAK - HIGH heat, 145°F, and a REST
1 1/2 lb of SIRLOIN OR STRIP STEAK seasoned with part of the 1 tbsp OLIVE OIL, 1 tsp KOSHER SALT and 1/2 tsp BLACK PEPPER, then GRILLED OVER HIGH HEAT TO 145°F and RESTED AT LEAST 3 MINUTES BEFORE SLICING. High heat is what produces the DARK CHAR LINES; a moderate grill cooks the same steak grey. The rest is part of the safety standard - 145°F PLUS 3 MINUTES for a whole cut - and it is also what keeps the juices in the meat rather than pooling under the sauce. SLICED THICKLY, because thin slices lose the rosy interior entirely.
The ZUCCHINI - ROUNDS, and genuinely CHARRED
2 MEDIUM ZUCCHINI SLICED INTO ROUNDS, seasoned with the rest of the oil, salt and pepper, and GRILLED UNTIL CHARRED AND TENDER. Both halves of that endpoint again: charred is the surface and tender is the inside. Rounds hold up on a grill where lengthways slices sag through the bars, and the photograph shows distinct charred discs alongside the steak.
ARRANGED IN BOWLS WITH GRILLED ZUCCHINI ONLY. That word - only - matters, and the recipe spells out what it excludes: NO RICE, GRAIN, OR GREENS. Then the SAUCE SPOONED OVER THE STEAK so the slices are coated rather than dressed alongside, and A SMALL RAMEKIN OF EXTRA SAUCE PLACED IN EACH SERVING BOWL. The sauce is yogurt and mayonnaise, so it is a refrigerated item until it goes to the table.
Success Tips
- Make the sauce before the grill goes on and hold some back in a ramekin.
- Grill hot enough to mark the steak; a moderate grill greys it instead.
- Rest before slicing, always — three minutes is the minimum, not a target.
Serving Ideas
Four bowls of thickly sliced grilled steak with dark char lines and a rosy interior, coated in a pale golden herb cream sauce with charred zucchini rounds alongside and a small ramekin of extra sauce set into each bowl.
Frequently Asked Questions
What goes underneath — rice or salad?
Neither. This bowl has no base at all. Sliced steak and grilled zucchini rounds are the whole of it, and no rice, grain or greens belong in it.
What is the pale sauce?
A garlic-herb cream sauce made from Greek yogurt and mayonnaise with lemon juice, grated garlic, parsley and chives. Some is spooned over the steak and some goes into a ramekin alongside.
How done should the steak be?
At least 145 degrees Fahrenheit, then rested three minutes before slicing. That is the standard for a whole cut of beef.
