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STEAK AU POIVRE

Always best as a dinner for two in my book: considering the

expense, this is perhaps wise. Some people prefer using

white peppercorns; it is a matter of taste.

Serves two.

2 fillet steaks, weighing at

least 225g (8oz)

2 tablespoons black

peppercorns

40g (1½oz) unsalted butter

2–3 tablespoons oil

30ml (1fl oz) brandy

50ml (13⁄4fl oz) white wine

100ml (3½fl oz) stock (beef

or chicken, quite strong)

50ml (13⁄4fl oz) double cream

a squeeze of lemon juice

salt

Bring the meat to room temperature for about an hour.

Pound the peppercorns in a mortar with the pestle until

they are all broken – no more – then sieve out the dust,

saving this for another purpose. The peppercorns can be

ground in a blender or spice grinder, but great care needs

to be taken to ensure that they are merely broken so that

they do not burn.

Spread out the pepper on a plate. Press the fillets into

the peppercorns, pushing down so that the pepper adheres

to one side of the steak, and season the same side with salt.

Melt half of the butter in the oil in a small frying pan. Once

the butter is foaming, place the steaks, pepper-side down,

in the pan and let the meat colour for a couple of minutes.

Do not be tempted to move it around. Once nicely

browned, salt the exposed side of the steaks, then turn

them over and colour the other side. Once they are rare

(when pierced in the centre with a metal skewer that is

held to your lip, it should be just over blood heat:

42°C/108°F, if you prefer to use a meat thermometer),

remove them from the pan. Allow to rest on a plate in a

warm place, ideally a very low oven.

Pour out the fat from the pan and return the pan to a

high heat. Pour in the brandy and carefully set it alight.

Pour in the wine immediately and scrape up any

caramelised juices with a wooden spoon. Allow the alcohol

to evaporate to a syrupy glaze, then pour in the stock.

Quickly reduce this by half before whisking in the cream

and reducing slightly. Salt to taste, add a squeeze of lemon

juice, then whisk in the remaining butter and any juices

that have escaped from the resting steaks.

Serve the steaks with plenty of this excellent sauce,

some green beans and good chips.

WINE: Pepper won’t hurt good wine but the richness of

the sauce will require it to be matched with a bit of acidity

and freshness. Older wines may therefore suffer a little. A

Chianti or Brunello five to seven years old might be ideal.

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