Marinated Black Pepper Sirloins with Roasted Pepper-Basil Butter

By Nancy Caivano

Marinated Black Pepper Sirloins
with Roasted Pepper-Basil Butter

Serves 6

Ingredients:
6 (4 to 6 oz) sirloin steaks

For marinade:
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
5 cloves garlic, chopped
(or 1 tbsp jar chopped garlic)
4 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp Dijon mustard

For butter:
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 red bell peppers, roasted
(or use a 7-oz jar of roasted peppers,
drain well, and dry on a towel), minced
3 tbsp basil, minced
3 tbsp parsley, minced

To cook the steaks:
Cooking Spray
1 cup Dijon mustard
3/4 cup coarsely ground black pepper

Method:
Marinate the steaks:
Place steaks in a shallow baking dish. Combine all marinade ingredients well. Pour over steaks. Cover; let stand at least 4 hours in refrigerator, or overnight, turning steaks several times. Remove from marinade and discard marinade.

Make the butter:
Beat butter in a small bowl with electric mixer until fluffy. Stir in minced peppers, basil and parsley. To make the butter easy to serve, place butter in the middle of a large piece of plastic wrap. Using the sides of the plastic, mold butter into a log. Wrap well with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator until hard enough to slice.

Cook the steaks:
Spray grill rack well with cooking spray, and preheat to medium-high heat. Rub steaks on both sides with 1 cup mustard. Sprinkle pepper evenly over both sides of steak. Grill until desired doneness (I like to serve them medium-rare).

Serve steaks hot, with slices of the butter.

Note:
The butter can be made a few days in advance, and making it ahead of time usually improves the taste.