We found this recipe in one of our most-used grilling cookbooks, Weber’s “Real Grilling,” as an accompaniment to their recipe for grilled flatiron steaks. Â It’s a simple and delicious way to dress up a steak, particularly if you’re a fan of olives. Â Come to think of it, this relish might also work well as a topping for tilapia or some other flaky white fish, or even as a condiment for a hot dog, similar to the Chicago dog. Â Certainly, each of these proteins are good on their own, but adding the fresh Mediterranean flavors of the relish can be a welcome change. Â And since the relish is made with roasted red bell pepper, tomato, olives, celery and parsley, it has enough non-starch and non-meat components to qualify as a vegetable side dish in our book, thereby completing the meal.
The recipe calls for pitted green and black olives. Â The green olives we used that night were not pitted, but it’s easy to remove the pits by placing the flat edge of a knife on top of the olive and smacking the knife to smash the olive. Â Then remove the pit.
Obviously you can use whatever ingredient ratios you prefer, but the original recipe calls for 1 cup chopped roasted red bell pepper; 1 cup diced tomato; 1/2 cup each of green and black (we usually use kalamata) olives, quartered lengthwise; 1/2 cup chopped celery and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley.
Whisk together the dressing ingredients: Â 1/4 cup olive oil; 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar; 1 teaspoon minced garlic; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano and 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (less if you don’t want much spice.)
Add the chopped ingredients to the dressing and stir everything together. Â The original recipe recommends making the relish 2 hours ahead of time and allowing it to sit at room temperature to help the flavors blend. Â We don’t always make it a full 2 hours ahead, but the flavors do develop and come together if you let it sit for a while before serving.
Spoon the relish over the grilled steak and serve (with or without an additional side dish.) Â We love how the relish adds texture and fresh, brine-y flavor to complement the juicy, meaty beef. Â Grilled steak is delicious, but grilled steak topped with Little Italy Relish is delectable.