Lake trout with potato risotto
After spectacular culinary journeys across the world’s oceans, Lukas Nagl has found his home port...
Steak au poivre - Classic pepper steak with cognac cream
Steak au poivre – a more classic French dish hardly exists. The combination of buttery-tender meat, lots of pepper and a sweet and spicy sauce is unbeatably good.
Cooking time: 40 minutes
For the steak
| Ingredients (4 servings) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2 | tablespoon(s) | Various peppercorns |
| 800 | g | Fillet steak, approx. 3 ½ cm thick (or 2 smaller pieces, approx. 180-200 g per person) |
| 2 | tablespoon(s) | Vegetable oil |
| 60 | g | Butter, in small piece |
| 2 | piece(s) | Garlic cloves, crushed with a knife blade (just to break them up) |
| 2 | piece(s) | Shallots, finely chopped |
| 2 | twig(s) | Thyme |
| 80 | ml | Cognac (brandy, whisky or dry sherry can also be used) |
| 120 | ml | Cream |
| Salt | ||
For the string beans
| Ingredients (4 servings) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 400 | g | String beans, cleaned |
| 2 | piece(s) | Shallots, peeled and cut into thin, round slices |
| 60 | ml | Good quality red wine vinegar |
| Salt | ||
| Olive oil | ||
Preparation
- Coarsely crush the peppercorns with a mortar and pestle or a heavy-bottomed pan.
- Dry the steaks with paper towels. Salt generously all around. Rub half of the crushed peppercorns into both sides of the meat and press down.
- Leave to infuse for at least ½ hour – preferably 2 or 3 hours– so the pepper flavor can seep into the meat.
- In the meantime, prepare the beans. Marinate the shallots in vinegar with a pinch of salt. Cook the string beans in well-salted boiling water until soft – but still a little crunchy (about 4 to 5 minutes).
- Drain and mix with the shallots and a little olive oil. Set aside.
- Heat a cast-iron pan over medium to high heat for a few minutes. Add the vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the steaks and fry until a deep golden brown crust forms, about 3 minutes. Turn and fry on the other side for 3 minutes until golden brown.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add 1 more tablespoon of butter, garlic and thyme. Baste the steak repeatedly with the butter for about 2 minutes. If you have a meat thermometer: 55°C corresponds to medium rare. Remove from the pan and leave to rest.
- To make the sauce, pour the fat out of the pan and discard the garlic and thyme. Add the remaining butter (2 tablespoons), the shallots and the remaining crushed peppercorns and sauté slowly for a few minutes, stirring frequently.
- Deglaze with the cognac (be careful, it can ignite!) and scrape off the drippings. Increase the heat and cook for another 1 or 2 minutes to evaporate the alcohol.
- Add the cream, bring to a boil and simmer for about 1 minute until the sauce sticks to the back of a spoon. Season to taste with a little salt.
- Pour the remaining gravy back into the pan and stir into the sauce. Cut the steak into slices against the grain.
- Arrange on a plate and spoon the sauce generously over the steak, sprinkle with a little sea salt and serve immediately with the string beans. Work quickly, as the sauce thickens as it cools.
