Beef Bracket

I don't cook lots of meat dishes when I'm at my home. I think that's because when I lived with my parents we tended to eat together and enjoy a diet of vegetarian meals with a spot of fish thrown in. That was until the last four years of my time living with them when they went totally vegetarian.

Since I left their place I have tended to continue with a diet of vegetarian food with a spot of seafood thrown in. However I think on occasion it's good to have a proper meat dish to keep the diet balanced and the protein levels up.

Towards the middle of August, having hosted a memorable birthday party and tackled some professional challenges, I disappeared off to the hills with the Dogg and we took in a good seven mile walk. The walk included a sneaky wander over the top of a waterfall and down into the grounds of a famous stately home.

Later that day, following a much-needed siesta, I got on with the business of cooking a Beef Steak with a side of Watercress and White Wine with Blue Cheese and Shallot Sauce.

The ingredients for this dish were as follows:

One medium sized Beef Steak.
Three Sprigs of Watercress

Ingredients for the sauce:

A quarter of a pint of White Wine.
Three teaspoons of Olive Oil.
Five grams of Unsalted Butter.
Four Shallots; topped, tailed, peeled and finely sliced.
A teaspoon of Black Pepper.
A teaspoon of Malt Vinegar.
A teaspoon of Dried Chives.
A teaspoon of Dried Tarragon.
A teaspoon of Dried Thyme.
Ten Ounces of Blue Stilton.

On the player was New Order's sophomore 1983 effort "Power Corruption and Lies". Although they are best known for blissful, uptempo dance floor hits such as "Blue Monday" and "True Faith", this record finds them still very much in the grip of the dark legacy of Joy Division. This band of course was the one out of which New Order was formed. The present record does have much to recommend it from the humming opener "Age of Consent" to the languid remake of "Blue Monday" that is "5-8-6".

This dish was surprisingly quick to prepare and the method was one where you should cook the Beef Steak and the Blue Cheese, White Wine and Shallot Sauce concurrently.

The method for the Beef Steak was as follows:

1. Pour Olive Oil into the bottom of a Le Cresceut.
2. Warm the Olive Oil on a medium heat for two minutes.
3. Add the Beef Steak.
4. If you want the Steak well done cook it in the Le Cresceut, with the lid on, for six minutes on each side. If you prefer it more rare then cook it for three minutes on each side.
5. Serve on a plate with the Watercress as a side and drizzle with the Blue Cheese, White Wine and Shallot Sauce.

The method for the Blue Cheese, White Wine and Shallot Sauce was as follows:

1. Put the Olive Oil in the bottom of a sauce pan.
2. Add the Butter, Black Pepper, Vinegar, Chives, Tarragon and Thyme.
3. Warm these ingredients through on a medium heat. Once the Butter has melted add the Shallots.
4. Simmer the ingredients for five minutes.
5. Add the Wine and continue to simmer for another six minutes.
6. Add the Blue Cheese and once it has melted into the Sauce, then serve the sauce by pouring it over the Beef Steak on the serving plate.

Although the Blue Cheese made the sauce quite rich, the side of Watercress and the White Wine in the sauce itself gave the dish a freshness that was much needed following the muggy conditions on the walk earlier in the day. The tasteful Beef Steak meanwhile resembled one of the rich looking Beef Bracket Fungi I had spotted in the grounds of the stately home earlier that day.

Tu aimes Le Bifteck? A spot of steak surrounded by Watercress and covered in flavoursome sauce.