Steak with Triple Cooked Chips

Lately, I have been quite interested in peoples answer to the question 'You're last meal?' I am as tired of people replying 'steak' as I am the bemused look i receive on the utterance of 'ortolan'.

If so many people love steak so much, why do I always end up with shitty steaks unless I cook them for myself? Here, I present a solid steak recipe for myself as much as you, in the hopes that if you ever offer to cook for me, I won't have to spit some grizzled rump on your lovely tablecloth.

I like to accompany mine with an incredibly versatile base sauce, to which you can easily add a plethora of other ingredients such as green peppercorns, wild mushrooms, a light shower of blue cheese or a slug of brandy.

Also, a steak without chips is like an ear without lobes. This triple cooked method is by far the best method I know of.

I present all this as a pictorial timeline, so without further ado, you will need...

1 rib eye steak

salt and pepper

for the cream sauce...

a single shallot

a clove of garlic

a splash of white wine

75ml double cream

sel et du poivre

for the green beans...

handful of green beans, topped and tailed

two shallots

clove of garlic

knob of butter

splash of water

salz und pfeffer

for the three times chips...

king edward potatoes, peeled and sliced evenly

vegetable oil (lots)

The most time consuming element are the chips, so let's go ahead with them first. Take your peeled and chopped tatties, and introduce them to enough boiling salted water to cover. Blanch for a few minutes, until they start to soften. What you're looking for is the edges to be a little rough. If they start falling apart...well.

Drain.

MTV ANGLES!

Once drained, set them out on something absorbent, and spread them out. a clean dishcloth is ideal for this. We are looking for them to dry. The fridge is a good place to do this, but wait until they cool otherwise your housemate will probably tell you off for 'changing the internal temperature of the fridge, therefore costing us more in electricity as the fridge has to work harder.'

At this point, I like to precook the beans.

I always cook my beans sideways.

Add the beans to a cold pan, adding your water and the butter, then bring it up to a medium heat. It's a lovely technique because it allows you to both boil and saute, as once the water has evaporated and part cooked the beans, the butter takes over and finishes the job. Once the water is gone add your shallot and garlic. saute until everything caramelizes. Take off the heat, set aside for reheating later.

Now back to the chips. Take your dry, cold potato out of the fridge. Heat enough oil to cover these, preferably in a tall pot to cut the risk of spitting and infernos. This is the first fry stage, so we're looking for a temperature of around 150. If you don't have an oil thermometer, then set your hob to a medium heat. We are blanching in the oil, not colouring, and we want the chips to take on the oil, soften, but not crisp. This should take around ten minutes. If it's quicker than this, pull the pan off the heat while you bring down your hob temperature.

When done, they should look something like this :-

health kick.

Repeat the same draining, drying process as the first time around. I took a small break here and listened to a little music. Feel free to do the same.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ_5NC2ZpwQ&playnext_from=TL&videos=Fv52pyCjlro

Next is the tricky part and what it all comes down to. Timing. We need the steak to be cooked and rested at the same time as the chips come out all crisped up and the sauce is in the pan and ready to blanket the meal in decadence.

First things first, put the beans in a low set oven to reheat, then start bringing the oil up to temp and get a separate frying pan as hot as you can for the steak. We are looking to get the oil for the chips to around 190, which should be on a high heat on your hob. Not the highest, but pretty high. In other words, the chips should bubble and boil at a good rate when you put them in.

Probably a bit like this.

Season your steak at the last minute, then drop it into the smoking hot pan. I like mine rare, so i give them and minute and half on each side, no more. Once they've had their time, it is important they are set aside on a plate to rest, which will let the meat relax and the internal juices settle evenly. I rest them for four minutes minimum. In this four minutes you can get on with the rest.

The chips go in their preheated oil, they should take 3-5 minutes and then they're done.

During this time, make the sauce in the same pan you cooked the steak in by sauteing the shallot and garlic briefly, adding the wine and boiling down for a minute or so, then adding the cream, and cooking down until a little thicker. The meat juice that has escaped from your resting steaks is imperative for beefy backup, so add that as well.

Remove and drain the chips, drag out and plate the beans, the steak, then the chips and drizzle and drape the whole lot in your lovely new sauce.

Finished.

Now enjoy this, preferably with the bottle of wine you opened for your sauce and someone you don't mind having around. Try not to eat it alone, but if you really have to then please print the following out and place it opposite you. I will keep you company if no one else will.

Xo.