CHEF and blogger Paul James writes for our paper.
NOW I know this seems a little strange that someone tee-total is serving a dish with vodka.
You may say it’s even stranger marinading a beautiful piece of luxurious steak – that requires no more tenderising – by using alcohol.
Well the cooking process will burn off the alcohol leaving just the aromatics of this fine British vodka and……okay you could be right in questioning the steak in vodka solution.
But trust me it’s the flavours left in the final dish that will leave your taste buds dancing around in your mouth.
This dish throws luxury at you from all angles – tender asparagus, creamy mash, the softest of melt in your mouth fillet steak and the smoothest, velvety sauce you could have ever wished for.
Perfect for that romantic evening for two!
But if you are like me, Billy no mates and on your Todd, nip over to the chippy for battered sausage and chips with a can of shandy bass!
Who said ‘romance is dead’.
Visit recipesfrommytravels.com for more on Paul’s blog and for more of his recipes.
Valentine’s Day marinated fillet steak with asparagus and creamy buttered mashed potato and vodka sauce
Ingredients
2 fillet steaks from Butcher’s Block Bromsgrove
200ml of good quality beef stock
1 tbsp of crushed black pepper
For the marinade
Sprinkle of Cornish sea salt
2 sprigs of Rosemary
2 sprigs of thyme
1 clove garlic (roughly crushed)
50ml of Nero vodka
50ml of Good quality olive oil.
50ml of orange juice
Method
1. Put all of the ingredients in a sealed plastic container and leave in the fridge for at least six hours, turn the steak over after approximately three hours. (If you marinade for three hours in total that will be fine).
2. Bring the fillet steak still in its marinade to room temperature.
3, Remove the steak (reserving the marinade) and roll it over the crushed black pepper. Leave again for another 15 minutes just so the excess marinade (vodka drips away)
4. Heat a large non stick frying pan until it’s hot and carefully place the fillet steak in the pan.
5. Sear on both sides until you get a beautiful coloured crust.
6. Don’t forget to do the same to the sides. Remove from the pan and place onto a warm plate to rest.
7. In the same frying pan add the reserved marinade and deglaze the pan (scrape all of the marmity bits off the bottom of the pan for flavour) reduce the marinade by half.
8. Add the beef stock and reduce again by half. Strain the liquid into a clean small saucepan. Bring to the boil then simmer for five minutes. Gently whisk in a knob or two of cold butter. Season to taste.
9. Arrange the fillet steak on top of some creamy mashed potato and add a couple of spears of blanched asparagus, with a good helping of the vodka sauce.
