Cook With Me: Family Steak Night

A bit of a different blog post today. I decided to cook fillet steak for the family and I thought I would record it. I love to cook and experiment with new flavours but it is rare that I am able to prepare a meal like this. This is because I work shifts, so sometimes I wont finish work until 8:30pm and I also play volleyball 3-4 nights a week.

Below I will add the ingredients I used, the method to make it and a video to follow along with if you want to cook this meal (or an element of this meal).

Ingredients (serves 4*)

Beef:

• 1 fillet of steak (of your desired size) per person
• 8 sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme

Sweet potatoes:

• 1 large sweet potato
• Semolina
• Paprika powder

Red-skinned potatoes:

• 400g red-skinned potatoes
• 4 sprigs of fresh thyme or rosemary
• 1 bulb of garlic

Carrots:

• 500g baby carrots
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 1 heaped table spoon of caster sugar
• 1 knob of butter

Cheats gravy:

• 4 tablespoons of Bisto Gravy granules
• A glug of red wine
• 1 Knorrs beef stock pot
• Half a red onion

Seasonings:

• Olive oil
• Salt
• Black pepper

To serve with:

• Half a pan fried red onion
• Pan fried mushrooms
• Béarnaise sauce
• English mustard
• A bottle of red wine

*My family eat rather large portions, so if you do not eat much it may be best to reduce the quantity.

Methodology:

TO START get all your ingredients and equipment ready. Preheat the oven to 220°C/470°F/gas mark 7. Fill and boil a kettle.

SWEET POTATOES Wash the sweet potato. Chop the two ends off the unpeeled sweet potato and begin to chop into fries. Place the fries into a baking tray, laying them flat. Season with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika powder and a generous amount on semolina to increase crispiness. Shake vigorously to cover each potato fry with seasoning. Place into the oven and cook for roughly 40 minutes or until lightly browned and crispy. Ensure you keep checking the sweet potato fries throughout.

POTATOES Wash the red-skinned potatoes, leaving the skin on. Chop into even chunks, roughly 2-3cm, and throw them into a saucepan. Cover with boiling water and season with salt. Boil for roughly 10 minutes, or just until cooked.

BEEF Pick and finely chop the rosemary (and thyme leaves if using fresh ingredients). Turn the heat up under an empty frying pan. Lay a sheet of greaseproof paper and drizzle with olive oil. Dress the greaseproof paper with the herbs, salt and pepper. Roll each fillet back and forth on the paper until fully coated with herbs.Add the meat to the hot frying pan. (you will have to add each fillet at different times depending on how each person would like their steak cooked. Obviously Well-done will be cooking for the longest and Rare for the least amount of time.Turn the heat down to ensure an even cook throughout. Turn the steak every minute or so to prevent uneven cooking or burning. Remember to seal all ends.

CARROTS Pour the carrots into an empty saucepan and cover with boiling water. Add thyme, a couple of bay leaves, a heaped tablespoon of caster sugar, a pinch of salt and a splash of olive oil. Cook with a lid until tender.

POTATOES Check the potatoes are fully cooked, then drain them. Add them to a large frying pan with olive oil, rosemary and a pinch of salt & pepper.

EXTRAS At this time, add any extras to your meal. Chop some red onion to pan fry. Fried mushrooms and beefsteak tomatoes also go well with a good fillet steak.

CHEATS GRAVY Finely chop half a red onion and add to the empty frying pan where the steaks were cooked. This pan should still have all of the flavours and juices from the beef fillets - this will add extra flavour to the gravey. Add 4 tablespoons of Bisto Gravy Granules into a jug. Slowly add water until the consistency is how thick or thin you like gravy. Add a Knorrs beef stock pot and mix well. If you like, you can add a glug of red wine. Pour the mixture into the frying pan with the onion and simmer.

TO SERVE How you dish up your meal is completely up to you. Personally I dished out each plate (mainly to save more dishes to wash up!) Drain the carrots and toss with butter. Dish the squashed potatoes, fillets and extras out onto the plates. Place the sweet potato fries in the middle of the table for family sharing. Serve with your drink of choice - the dish goes well with red wine. My personal favourite - Gallo Family Summer Red (and its only £5.99 per bottle, bargain!)

I gained a lot of inspiration for this dish from Jamie Oliver and his Roast Beef 30 minute meal. I adapted the ingredients and methodology to create a new meal for our family steak night. I hope you have enjoyed cooking with me!

Thank you for reading my blog post, see you next time

Bye for now x