FILLET STEAKS WITH FLAMING SAUCE DIANE

This dish became super-easy for the home cook since the introduction of demiglace sauce, available in good supermarkets in the chilled or larder section. If you can’t get it, simmer and reduce 200ml of good beef stock by half – because you are dealing with such a small quantity, this only takes 5 minutes.

1. Season the steaks generously all over – don’t be mean with the pepper. Heat a third of the butter and ½ tablespoon of the oil in a medium frying pan, then put in the steaks and cook for 2–3 minutes per side, till done to your liking. If you have a digital thermometer, the centre of the meat should read about 550C. Put the steaks on a plate and keep warm in a low oven while you prepare the sauce.

2. Heat another third of the butter and the remaining ½ tablespoon of oil in the pan and sizzle the shallot for about 1 minute, till fragrant.

Ingredients

2 fillet steaks (or rib-eye, sirloin or rump, as you prefer)

35g butter, divided into

3 equal-sized portions

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small shallot, chopped as finely as possible

2 tbsp brandy or cognac

100ml ready-made demi-glace sauce, or reduced beef stock (see recipe intro)

1 tsp Dijon mustard

½ tsp Worcestershire sauce a sprinkling of snipped chives, to finish (optional)

3. For this stage, by all means ask your dinner companion to be on fire-watch. Tip half the brandy into the pan, allow to warm, then light carefully with a match or candle-lighter. Wobble the pan to burn up as much fat as possible, then when the flames have died down, repeat with the remaining brandy.

4. Bubble until the liquid has almost evaporated, then stir in the demi-glace and mustard and bubble again for 1 minute till reduced and slightly thickened.

5. Add any juices from the steaks and the Worcestershire sauce and simmer till the sauce is your desired consistency. Take off the heat, stir in the remaining third of butter to add gloss, check the seasoning and pour over the steaks to serve, sprinkling with snipped chives to finish, if you wish.

SAUCE FOR STEAK – RING THE CHANGES

For a mushroom version, before you cook the steaks, cut a portabello mushroom in chunks and fry in 15g of butter and a splash of olive oil for about 5 minutes, till golden. Set aside and stir in in step 4.

For steak au poivre, roughly crush 1 tablespoon (or more if you love pepper) of black peppercorns in a pestle and mortar or by putting in a small bag and bashing with a rolling pin. Press all over the steaks before frying. Some of the pepper will fall off while frying, so simply incorporate it into the sauce.