Steak Frites with Béarnaise Sauce
This is a classic French dish that’s perfect for a special occasion. Béarnaise sauce can be tricky to get right, but it’s worth the effort for a rich, herbaceous and tangy sauce to accompany steak. For ease you can substitute the clarified butter for gently warmed ghee. I love a skinny chip and to make it easier (and a little healthier) I’m baking my skin-on fries.
Method
Preheat the oven to 220C/200Cfan/Gas 6.
Cut the potatoes into thin ¼ inch fries. Put in a bowl of cold water to soak for 30-60 minutes to remove excess starch.
Put a baking tray in the oven to heat up. Remove the chips from the water, drain and pat completely dry. Put into a bowl and drizzle generously with olive oil. Season with salt and toss through the thyme.
Lay the oiled fries on the pre-heated baking tray in a single layer. Cook for 25-30 minutes, flipping once or twice, until nicely golden and crisp.
Meanwhile make the bearnaise sauce: Put the chopped tarragon stalks, white wine vinegar, dry white wine, shallots and the peppercorns into a small saucepan over a medium heat. Bring to the boil and then simmer for a few minutes until you have just 1 scant tablespoon of liquid remaining. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, extracting as much flavour as possible, and allow to cool slightly. Clarify the butter by melting in a small pan over a low heat. Simmer gently until the foam rises to the top. Remove from the heat and skim off the foam. Sieve through a fine mesh sieve and discard the milk solids.
Add the egg yolks and 1 tsp water to a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk until thickened and then whisk in the vinegar. Slowly stream in the warm butter, whisking constantly, until emulsified and thickened. Stir in the tarragon leaves and check for seasoning. Keep warm.
Season the steaks with salt and pepper. Drizzle with oil. Place a large frying pan over a high heat until just beginning to smoke. When hot, add the steaks, reduce the heat to medium-high and cook for 1 minute. Turn the steaks and cook for another minute. Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic and butter and cook, basting constantly with the pan juices, for a further 2–3 minutes, depending on the thickness of your steaks, for medium, or until cooked to your liking. Remove from the pan to rest.
Serve the steaks with a little of the bearnaise sauce poured over (serve any remaining sauce in a small pot) with the frites and watercress on the side.
Ingredients
- 500g large russet potatoes, washed
- 3 tbsp light olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 1 sprig of thyme, leaves picked, chopped
- 2 x 200g sirloin steaks
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled, bashed
- 1 tbsp butter
- lightly dressed watercress, to serve
- sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
- For the Béarnaise Sauce
- 2 sprigs of tarragon, leaves and stalks separated, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp dry white wine
- 1 small shallot, peeled and finely sliced
- ¼ tsp black peppercorns
- 120g unsalted butter
- 3 large egg yolks