EASTER FEASTER PART 4: T-BONE WITH BEARNAISE

- METHOD -

To cook the steak:

Salt and pepper the steak and fry it to your liking in olive oil. Add a knob of butter towards the end of the cooking period. It really makes it lush. Lift steaks out of pan and cover with foil to rest and keep warm.

To make the béarnaise:

Add the vinegar, wine, water, peppercorns, shallots, tarragon and bay leaf to a small pot and boil over low heat, uncovered, until the liquid has reduced to three tablespoons – it takes about 7 minutes. Remove and pour through a tea strainer to remove all the solid bits. Discard the solid bits, you just want the liquid. Allow the liquid to cool a bit.

Place the yolks in a heatproof bowl and add the cooled, reserved liquid. Place the bowl over a pot of gently simmering water and whisk constantly until the eggs become pale, fluffy and start to thicken – it takes 4-5 minutes. Now traditionally one would use a balloon whisk. But life is too short for sore biceps, so use an electric handheld mixer instead. (Cook’s note: The bowl must not touch the water and the water must barely bubble. If it’s too hot, you’ll end up with scrambled eggs. If you feel the bowl becomes too hot while you’re whisking, remove it from the heat for a few seconds.)

Next add the butter, a block at a time, while constantly whisking. Ensure that each block is fully melted and incorporated before you add the next. It seems impossible for such a small amount of egg mixture to take all that butter – believe us, it does. The gradual addition of the butter and all that whisking will thicken the béarnaise beautifully. Once it’s all incorporated, remove from the heat and whisk for a further 30 seconds. Add the chopped parsley and lemon, and taste to see if it needs an extra pinch of salt, it probably will.

To make the potatoes:

Smash the garlic cloves with the side of a chef’s knife to break open. Tumble the garlic, rosemary leaves and the boiled potatoes into the same pan you fried the steak in – all those lovely beef drippings should not go to waste! Fry until the potatoes are lightly browned. Time to dish up.

Recipe concept & photography by Lizet Hartley.

Lizet Hartley is a freelance stills and reel food stylist, food photographer and recipe developer. In her spare time she – rather predictably – cooks. Get more of her recipes on her blog at http://www.melkkos-merlot.co.za