Juicy Cherry Tomatoes Are Perfect For Dressing Up Flank Steak

If you have a flank steak waiting to be seared and in need of some flavor, you should consider reaching for some tomatoes instead of the spice rack. Flank steak is an affordable cut of meat that makes an easy and satisfying weeknight dinner, but compared to fattier cuts it often needs a little more of a boost. This usually takes the form of some kind of sauce, either as a marinade or something like chimichurri to spoon over your steak. 

Those are both great options, but, when you get tired of the standard recipes, cherry tomatoes can be a great source of juice for a lively sauce that you can make in minutes — and that happens to pair perfectly with a meaty steak. Chopped-up cherry tomatoes are a tasty topping on their own, but with just a few extra ingredients they can be transformed into a tomato vinaigrette that's full of fresh flavor. All you need is some herbs, sliced onions, vinegar, salt, and pepper. 

Slicing your cherry tomatoes into halves or quarters will release plenty of juice, which can then be mixed with your other ingredients to form a silky emulsion. Mixing the sauce with the sliced chunks will produce a tomato vinaigrette topping that can be spooned over your sliced flank steak, and brings not just extra flavor, but also added texture to your meal.

Cherry tomatoes are a great accompaniment to steak and other meats because they bring brightness and acidity to your meal. Flank steak has a nice mild, meaty flavor but it is relatively lean and lacks both the fat and acid that help boost the taste of your food. Combined with the olive oil and vinegar in the dressing, the cherry tomato vinaigrette will not only bring its own unique notes to the dish but will actually bring out more of your steak's flavor. 

The contrast between the fresh topping and the savory meat will also make your meal more balanced, and thus more satisfying and enticing. If you have cherry tomatoes you want to use with your flank steak you don't need to limit yourself to a vinaigrette, either. Another variation that hits a lot of the same notes but with a Mexican twist is pico de gallo. You can also go even simpler and either roast or pan-fry your cherry tomatoes to blacken them. 

The cooking will still draw out plenty of juice, which you should save for dressing your steak, but the heat will also bring out a deeper, sweeter flavor from the tomatoes themselves. Whether raw or cooked, cherry tomatoes are one of the most flavorful fresh ingredients you can use as a topping, and any slice of flank steak will be happy to have them as a partner.