Steak with peppercorn sauce and watercress

Plan a week with British dishes

Let's cook

1. Take the steaks out of the fridge while you start the potatoes, so they are not fridge cold when they go in the pan. Put the potatoes in a pan of cold salted water, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 to 18 minutes until tender. Drain.
2. Crush the peppercorns: put them in a food bag and press hard with the bottom of a heavy pan, or use a pestle and mortar. You want rough pieces, not powder.
3. Pat the steaks dry with kitchen paper and season both sides with the salt. Heat a large heavy frying pan on a high heat until it is very hot, then add the oil.
4. Cook 2 steaks at a time. For medium rare (pink in the middle), cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side; for medium, 4 minutes on each side; for well done, 5 to 6 minutes. Hold each steak on its side with tongs for a minute to crisp the strip of fat. Move them to a warm plate, cover loosely with foil and rest for 5 minutes while you make the sauce.
5. Turn the heat down to medium. Add the butter to the same pan, then the shallot, and cook for 2 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and peppercorns and cook for 1 minute.
6. Pour in the stock and scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan; they carry a lot of flavour. Let it bubble for 3 minutes until it has boiled down to about half.
7. Stir in the cream, the mustard if using and any juices from the resting steaks. Simmer for 2 minutes until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Taste and add a pinch of salt if it needs it.
8. Slice the steaks across the grain into thick strips. Lay them on warm plates with the potatoes and a pile of watercress, and spoon the sauce over the steak or into a small jug on the side.

Tips

• Resting matters: the juices settle back into the meat, so less runs out when you slice it.
• A pan that is hot enough sizzles loudly the moment the steak touches it. If it only hisses, take the steak out and wait.
• Whole steaks can safely be served pink in the middle, because any germs sit on the outside and are killed by the searing. Minced beef is different and must always be cooked through.

Swaps

• Cheaper: use rump or bavette (flank) steak, and slice it thinly across the grain.
• Milder: use 2 teaspoons of crushed peppercorns instead of a tablespoon.

More in the British meal plan

Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.