This is a fillet steak in a creamy sauce. It's a sauce of quite a contentious origin: the French say it's theirs, we say it's Italian. Go figure. It's quite easy to make but you need to pay attention to the timing, and it is always sure to impress.
Ingredients for 2:
2 x 200gr fillet steaks, 2cm thick ("Tournedos")
1 Tbsp fresh pickled green pepper, drained
30 gr butter (salted Irish butter if you can)
1 tsp olive oil (it stops the butter from browning)
1/3 glass of congac (Vecchia Romagna etichetta nera is what I use, but Hennessy would also work well)
250ml fresh cream or soy cream
You'll need:
1 warm plate (heat it up with 4 Tbsp of water in the microwave for 2 mins)
A tin foil sheet ready to use
Method:
As always with steak, ensure it's well at room temperature before cooking it
Choose a non stick pan with a heavy bottom, and heat it up very well
Add half the butter and the oil and keep the pan on very high heat
Add the steaks as soon as the butter melts and start the stop watch: you need to brown the meat and sear the juices, so for medium-rare cook for 1:30mins per side, adding the remaining butter when needed
Add the congac (1/3 of a glass may be too much, it just needs to be enough to deglaze the pan) and add the green pepper, then wait 30 seconds, turn the steaks for another 30 seconds
Add the cream, mixing it with the juices and the pepper and spooning it over the steaks: 1 mins per each side
Drain the hot water from your warm plate, put the steaks on it and cover them tightly with the tinfoil
Keep the pan with the sauce on the hob and stir it well, cooking for 1 or 2 mins (don't let it reduce too much)
Serve the steaks immediately, with the sauce spooned over