Serves:  4

Preparation Time:  20 minutes

Cooking Time:  45 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Steak

• 4 x 150g beef fillet
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• 30g butter
• 5 sprigs thyme
• 4 cloves garlic, pressed

Wild Mushrooms

• Olive oil
• 400g wild mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
• Salt
• Pepper
• 15g butter
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed

Peppercorn & Brandy Sauce

• 15ml black peppercorns, roughly crushed
• 30g butter
• 1 shallot, finely chopped (or half an onion)
• 100ml brandy
• 200ml beef stock
• 150ml cream
• Lemon wedge
• Salt
• Sugar

METHOD

Steak

Take the fillets out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature, at least 30 minutes before cooking.

Drizzle some olive oil over the steaks and season them generously with salt and pepper.  Massage the oil and seasoning into the fillets.

Place a frying pan on the stove top over a high heat. Add enough olive oil to just cover the base of the pan.

Once the pan is smoking, add the fillets. Allow them to sear until dark caramelized crust, about 3-4 minutes, then turn over and repeat of the other side.

Then rotate the steaks along the edges to seal the sides.

Place the steaks back flat into the pan and add the butter, thyme, and garlic. Swirl the pan around so the butter is spread around all the steaks.

Turn the heat down slightly and baste the steaks with the bubbling butter for 2-3 minutes on each side. This will give you a medium-rare. If you would like it cooked more or less, adjust the timing accordingly.

Remove the steaks from the pan and allow them to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Keep the pan with all the leftover bits for the sauce.

Wild Mushrooms

Heat a dash of olive in a pan over a high heat. Once hot, add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté until the mushrooms have a good golden colour.

Add the butter, thyme and garlic. Sauté, tossing the mushrooms so the butter bubbles. Cook for about 3 minutes, until the mushrooms are cooked through.

Serve immediately.

Peppercorn Sauce

Take your pan from your steak and place it over a medium-high heat.

Add the peppercorns and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the butter and shallots and sauté for a further 3 minutes, until the shallots have softened.

Deglaze with the brandy and allow it to simmer until almost completely reduced. Add the beef stock and allow to simmer until reduced by half.

Add the cream. Bring to the boil, then turn down to simmer gently for a few minutes, until the sauce is darker in colour and has great flavour.

Season with a squeeze of lemon juice, and a pinch of salt and sugar.

To Plate

Place the fillet in the centre of the plate. Spoon the sauce over half the steak and drizzle around the plate. Top with the wild mushrooms.