Grass-Fed Beef Tri-Tip with Green Harissa, Roasted Zucchini, Rainbow Carrots, Fingerling Potatoes, Arugula, Microgreens, and Goat Chèvre
Grass-fed tri-tip rubbed with garlic, herbs, and cumin, seared and roasted, then sliced against the grain and spooned with a vibrant green harissa of parsley, cilantro, mint, green chilies, and toasted cumin and coriander. It's served with roasted zucchini, rainbow carrots, and rosemary fingerling potatoes, plus a bright arugula and microgreen salad with fresh goat cheese.
Yield: Serves 4–6 · Active: 50 min · Total: 1 hr 30 min (plus 2–24 hours dry-brining) · Best in North America from summer into early fall, when zucchini, carrots, and new potatoes overlap · Best eaten: early evening
About tri-tip: This triangular cut from the bottom sirloin is a California classic, made famous by Santa Maria-style barbecue on the state's Central Coast. It's lean, beefy, and tender when cooked to medium-rare and sliced thinly against the grain.
The Menu
Grass-Fed Beef Tri-Tip
Green Harissa
Roasted Zucchini
Roasted Rainbow Carrots
Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Arugula and Microgreen Salad with Goat Chèvre
Your Game Plan
The day before, or at least 2 hours ahead: Dry-brine the tri-tip.
About 1½ hours out: Take the tri-tip out of the fridge. Heat the oven to 425°F. The potatoes and carrots go in.
About 1 hour out: The zucchini goes in. Make the green harissa.
About 40 minutes out: Take out the vegetables and keep them warm. Sear the tri-tip and roast it.
While the tri-tip roasts and rests: Make the salad dressing, and rewarm the vegetables in the turned-off oven.
Recipe 1: Grass-Fed Beef Tri-Tip
Ingredients
2½–3 lb grass-fed tri-tip roast, silver skin trimmed
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp sweet paprika
2 tsp Baja Gold sea salt, divided
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
Method
Dry-brine. Pat the tri-tip completely dry and rub it with 1 tsp salt. Refrigerate it uncovered on a wire rack for 2–24 hours.
Bring it to room temperature, about 45 minutes before cooking.
Make the rub. Combine the olive oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, cumin, paprika, remaining salt, and pepper, and rub it all over the meat.
Sear. Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat until smoking, and sear the tri-tip 3–4 minutes per side, until deeply browned.
Roast in the 425°F oven for 20–25 minutes, until it reaches 125–130°F for medium-rare, or 135°F for medium.
Rest 10–15 minutes, loosely tented with parchment. Don't skip it; resting keeps the juices in the meat.
Slice against the grain. Tri-tip's grain changes direction partway through the roast, so cut it in half where the grain shifts, then slice each half thinly across the fibers.
Recipe 2: Green Harissa
Ingredients
2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley, packed
1 cup fresh cilantro, packed
½ cup fresh mint leaves
3 jalapeños or serrano chilies, seeded (leave some seeds in for more heat)
6 garlic cloves
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
Optional: 1 tsp caraway seeds (traditional in harissa)
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon, plus 3 tbsp juice
1 tsp Baja Gold sea salt
½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
Method
Toast the spices. Toast the cumin, coriander, and caraway (if using) in a dry skillet over medium heat for 60–90 seconds, until fragrant, then grind them.
Blend. Pulse the parsley, cilantro, mint, chilies, garlic, ground spices, and lemon juice and zest in a food processor. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the sauce is bright green and just emulsified. It's best a little chunky.
Season with salt and pepper, then taste and adjust.
Recipe 3: Roasted Zucchini
Ingredients
3 medium zucchini, cut into ¾-inch rounds or half-moons
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tsp Baja Gold sea salt
½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
Zest of ½ lemon
2 tbsp fresh basil, torn
Method
Toss the zucchini with the olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and lemon zest.
Roast in a single layer at 425°F for 20–25 minutes, tossing once, until golden and tender.
Finish with torn basil.
Recipe 4: Roasted Rainbow Carrots
Ingredients
1½ lb rainbow carrots (purple, orange, yellow, and white), scrubbed and halved lengthwise (or left whole if small)
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp raw honey
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp Baja Gold sea salt
½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Method
Toss the carrots with the olive oil, honey, thyme, cumin, salt, and pepper.
Roast at 425°F for 25–30 minutes, tossing once, until caramelized and tender.
Finish with chopped parsley.
Recipe 5: Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Ingredients
1½ lb fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, smashed
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tsp Baja Gold sea salt
½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
Flaky sea salt
Method
Toss the potatoes with the olive oil, garlic, rosemary, salt, and pepper.
Roast cut-side down at 425°F for 30–35 minutes, until golden and tender.
Finish with flaky salt.
Recipe 6: Arugula and Microgreen Salad with Goat Chèvre
Ingredients
4 cups baby arugula
1 cup mixed microgreens (sunflower, radish, pea shoots, or your local mix)
4 oz fresh goat cheese (chèvre), crumbled (Cypress Grove, or a fresh chèvre from a local dairy near you)
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
Flaky sea salt
Method
Whisk the dressing: the olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon, salt, and pepper.
Toss the arugula and microgreens with the dressing just before serving.
Top with crumbled goat cheese and flaky salt.
To Serve
Slice the tri-tip and fan it on a large, warm platter, and spoon green harissa generously over the top. Arrange the zucchini, rainbow carrots, and fingerlings alongside, and pile the salad in a bright bunch. Serve extra harissa at the table.
Storage
Tri-tip: refrigerated up to 3 days. It's delicious sliced cold over greens.
Green harissa: refrigerated up to 5 days, with a thin layer of olive oil on top to keep it green.
Roasted vegetables: refrigerated up to 4 days.
Salad: best dressed just before serving.
Nourishment Notes
Grass-fed tri-tip — complete protein, heme iron, B12, zinc, and CLA.
Green harissa — apigenin from the parsley, vitamin K from the cilantro, menthol from the mint, capsaicin from the chilies, and aromatic compounds from the toasted cumin and coriander, traditionally used to support digestion.
Rainbow carrots — beta-carotene in the orange carrots, anthocyanins in the purple, and lutein in the yellow.
Fingerling potatoes — potassium, vitamin C, and resistant starch (especially in cooled leftovers).
Zucchini — potassium and vitamin C.
Arugula and microgreens — glucosinolates, folate, and vitamin K. Studies have found that many microgreens are richer in certain vitamins and carotenoids than their mature leaves.
Goat cheese — calcium, protein, and mostly A2-type casein, which many people find easier to digest than conventional cow's milk.
Extra virgin olive oil — oleic acid, hydroxytyrosol, and polyphenols.
Honey — caramelization and trace minerals.
For your cycle: The tri-tip's heme iron, B12, and zinc make this especially restorative during the menstrual phase, and the herbs' and lemon's vitamin C helps your body absorb that iron. The arugula and microgreens add bright, fresh greens for the follicular and ovulatory phases.
Sourcing
Tri-tip — 100% grass-fed and grass-finished, from Alderspring Ranch, White Oak Pastures, US Wellness Meats, or a California grass-fed ranch
Goat cheese — Cypress Grove, or a fresh farmstead chèvre from a local dairy near you
Rainbow carrots, fingerling potatoes, zucchini, arugula, garlic, herbs, chilies, and lemons — organic, from a farmers' market (look for fingerling varieties like Russian Banana, French Fingerling, and Purple Peruvian)
Microgreens — organic, from a local grower or farmers' market
Whole cumin, coriander, and caraway seeds, and sweet paprika — organic and non-irradiated; toast and grind the seeds fresh
Dijon mustard — organic, with no preservatives or sugar; Delouis Fils or Maison Orphée
Raw honey — organic, local, and unfiltered
Extra virgin olive oil — organic, single-estate, harvest-dated, in dark glass
Salt — Baja Gold sea salt; Maldon for finishing
— Anna aka Food Marshall