When people think of a romantic meal steak is often one of the first things that comes to mind. We have wondered why this is, what is it about a big hunk of bloody red meat that represents heartfelt love and sweet nothings?
On the one hand perhaps it represents our baser instincts and lets the boys feel all manly eating a slab of juicy meat. On the other, perhaps it is because everyone sees steak as a luxury food only to be eaten on the most special of occasions making it perfect for that intimate valentines night in.
Either way, we don’t want to ruin a special occasion by over thinking things - that would be rude and we were taught never to refuse food, ESPECIALLY when it was a steak.
However whilst the steak was of course fantastic (it’s all about buying good quality meat), the show stopper was the home made peppercorn sauce and onion rings. Those babys came out of the fryer with crispy batter and sweet & soft onion inside, a really guilty pleasure. And if you can’t have a guilty, indulgence treat on Valentine’s Day then when can you?
If you are looking for some extra special, we recommend trying out these Venison Rump Steaks.
Valentine’s Night Steak, Chips, Peppercorn Sauce & Onion Rings
Serves 2 (3 is a crowd on Valentine’s Day)
For the steak:
2 rump steaks
salt and black pepper
olive oil for frying
For the onion rings:
2 large onions
vegetable oil for deep frying
100g plain flour
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp oil
150ml milk
1 egg white
For the peppercorn sauce:
1 shallot
1 tsp of roughly crushed black peppercorns
100ml double cream
3tbsp beef stock
1 tbsp coarse grain mustard
50g mushrooms
butter
For the chips:
2 or 3 large floury potatoes e.g. maris piper
sea salt
a few sprigs of rosemary
rocket to serve
1. Start by peeling and slicing your potatoes into the size and shape of your desired chip. Heat your oven to 200c and place the sliced potatoes on an oven proof tray, sprinkle with salt and rosemary and pop in the oven for 40 minutes. Give them a shake every so often so they don’t stick.
2. To make the batter for the onion rings, sift the flour with a pinch of salt into a bowl and make a hole in the middle. Put the egg yolks and oil and milk and mix to a smooth batter. Let the mixture stand for 30 minutes.
3. For the peppercorn sauce, slice the mushrooms and shallot and melt a small amount of butter in a frying pan, add the shallots and mushrooms and on a low heat fry until softened. Add the peppercorns, stock, mustard and cream and leave on a low heat to reduce down.
4. The steaks should be cooked in a large non-stick griddle or frying pan, season and brush lightly with oil. Depending on how you like the steak, fry on either side evenly - a rare steak takes around 2 1/2 minutes on either side.
5. Once cooked to your liking, place on a plate and cover to keep warm and rest.
6. Back to the onion rings, peel and slice the onions lengthways to make rings, and coat with the batter. You should heat the vegetable oil in a deep pan and only ever fill it 1/3 full. When the oil gets to 180 degrees place each battered onion ring in for 3 to 4 minutes - they should come out looking lovely, golden and crisp. Place onto some kitchen towel to drain off any extra oil.
Plate everything together and add a handful of rocket for some colour and there you have a wonderful Valentine’s meal.
