Fillet of beef with mixed peppercorn sauce

• vegetable oil↗1 tbsp tbsp
• clarified butter↗25g g

  (see Know-how, below)

• fillet steaks↗2

  (ideally beef matured for 3-5 weeks), about 140g/5oz each, at room temperature

• butter↗knob of
• shallots↗2large

  finely chopped

• mushrooms↗6medium

  sliced

• green and pink peppercorn↗2 tsp tsp

  crushed

• brandy↗3 tbsp tbsp
• red wine↗100ml ml
• good-quality beef stock↗200ml ml
• double cream↗3 tbsp tbsp

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Heat a frying pan over a medium-to-high heat, then pour in the oil and the clarified butter. Season the steaks with salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper and cook to your liking (2 mins each side for medium-rare, 3 mins each side for medium, depending on the thickness of your steaks). Be sure to seal the rounded edges, too. Transfer to a plate.

2. 2

   Add the knob of butter to the pan, then fry the shallots, mushrooms and peppercorns over a medium heat for 5 mins, until the shallots have softened and the mushrooms browned. Return the steaks to the pan. Heat the brandy in a metal ladle, light with a match then carefully pour into the hot pan, standing as far back as you can. Once the pan has stopped flaming, remove the steaks again.

3. 3

   Pour the wine into the pan, turn up the heat and boil rapidly until reduced by half. This will take about 5 mins. Add the stock and reduce again, this time by two-thirds. Stir the cream in to the sauce and allow it to thicken slightly. Check the sauce for seasoning, then return the fillets to the pan to warm through, spooning the sauce over. Serve straight away.