TOURNEDOS CHASSEUR

Tournedos is the French word for a small, thick steak cut from the centre of the fillet. It is traditionally served on a fried bread croûte, to mop up the juices, and topped with a mushroom sauce.

Sauce: 30ml (2 tbsp) butter 1 small onion, finely chopped 125g button mushrooms, sliced 125ml (½ cup) dry white wine 30ml (2 tbsp) tomato purée 150ml beef stock 60ml (¼ cup) fresh cream 15ml (1 tbsp) brandy

Steak: 30ml (2 tbsp) oil 45ml (3 tbsp) butter 4 slices white bread, crusts removed 4 x 2-3cm thick beef tournedos (ask a butcher to cut them) Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste Chopped fresh parsley, to serve

For the sauce, heat the butter in a pan and fry the onion until softened. Turn up the heat, add the mushrooms and fry for 3-4 minutes until soft. Add the wine, tomato purée and beef stock. Cook until mixture has reduced by half. Add the cream and brandy and heat through just before serving.

For the steak, heat the oil and butter in a large pan. Fry the bread on both sides until golden brown. Remove from pan, cover and set aside. Add more butter and oil to pan if necessary and cook each tournedos over high heat for about 2 minutes per side (more if you prefer your meat well done, but traditionally this would be served rare). Season, place each steak on a croute (piece of toast), pour sauce over and serve garnished with parsley. Serves 4