Crostini is a traditional Italian dish made with grilled or toasted bread with toppings. The bread is brushed with olive oil and toasted on the grill or in the oven for a crunchy finish. My crostini is grilled and topped with thinly sliced grilled tenderloin steak and homemade Argentinian chimichurri sauce. What I love most about this recipe is everything can be cooked on the grill for simplicity.
The combination of flavors paired with crunchy warm bread is absolutely delicious and serves as a fancy heavy app or even a complete meal. While traditional crostini is made with sliced Italian baguette, you can substitute it with French bread or your favorite artisan bread. Pictured in this recipe is my mom’s delicious homemade sourdough bread. The larger loaves give you more room for a more substantial serving.
Serve Crostini as an Appetizer or Meal
This recipe is pictured as a single tenderloin steak divided between two larger slices of sourdough bread. One tenderloin steak will make two ‘meal-sized’ crostinis or 4-6 smaller traditional crostinis, depending on the size. Using a more traditional French or Italian baguette will render smaller appetizer-sized crostinis with 3-4 slices of tenderloin each.
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Steak and Chimichurri Crostini
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2-6 1x
- Category: Appetizer
Description
Grilled crostini topped with thinly sliced grilled tenderloin steak and homemade Argentinian chimichurri sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 10-ounce thick tenderloin beef filet (roughly 2 inches thick)
- salt and pepper to taste
- Italian or French baguette, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch slices
- Olive oil
Chimichurri sauce
- 1 cup (packed) fresh Italian parsley
- 1/4 cup (packed) fresh cilantro
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the chimichurri sauce
- Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Pulse until smooth, but still a little gritty. Set aside.
For the filets
- Season both sides of the filet generously with salt and pepper. Let rest for 30 minutes before cooking, this is to bring the steak to room temperature and ensure your cooking times are more accurate.
- Preheat the grill to high heat and clean the grates well. Keep the lid closed and let the internal temp get up to around 500°F.
- Place the filets face down and sear undisturbed for 5 minutes with the cover up. Flip the filets and sear for an additional 5 minutes. This is ideal for medium-rare.
- For rare, sear for 4 minutes a side. Medium rare, 5 minutes. Medium, 6-7 minutes. Medium well, 8+ minutes. Depending on the size of the steak, the more or less time it will take. This recipe is ideal for an 8-10 ounce portion, roughly 2 inches thick. Note: If your steak still needs more time, lower the heat to medium and put the cover down. This will take advantage of the ambient heat to finish the steak. Remember, the steak will continue to cook after it’s been removed from the heat. More notes below.
- Remove filets from the grill and let rest for 7-10 minutes before serving. This is important to bring your steak to its final serving temperature.
- As the steaks are resting, drizzle/brush the oil (about 2 teaspoons per side) on both sides of each slice of bread. Grill for 1-2 minutes per side over medium heat or until golden and toasted.
- Thinly slice tenderloin into 1/4-inch thick strips. Layer over bread slices and season with sea salt. Top with a few spoonfuls of chimichurri. Eat with a fork and knife or with your hands. See notes on serving size/quantities.
Notes
If serving as an appetizer, a smaller baguette is best as you will be able to make 4-6 smaller crostinis with 1 tenderloin steak. If served as a meal or entre, 1 steak will feed two people. Larger bread slices are best.
Tenderloin can be substituted for ribeye, sirloin, flank, or skirt steak.
Grilling with the cover up versus down is largely dependent on outdoor conditions. If it’s cold and windy then leaving the cover up will take much longer to cook your steak. In these conditions, you should likely cook with the cover down to retain heat.
Temperatures for steak
Rare: 120°F to 125°F
Medium rare: 125°F to 130°F
Medium: 135°F to 140°F
Medium well: 145°F to 150°F
Well done: 160°F and above
I love this! I used my sour dough bread, toasted it, and topped it like your recipe called for. The sauce is outstanding! Great meal or app.
★★★★★