Recipe:Tian of beef and sweet potato

Ingredients

Two 8 oz fillet steaks – cut into three slices each.

Two large sweet potatoes – peeled and cut into three slices each.

Selection of vegetables - enough for two - such as carrot, asparagus, spring onions, green beans – all prepared to approximately the same size, say, the size of your thumb.

A wine glass of red wine

A similar amount of good beef stock – preferably not made from just the standard salty cube.

A couple of ounces of chilled butter - diced

Olive oil

Method

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the sweet potatoes until al dente. Remove from the water and place in a covered dish in a warm oven. Repeat with all the other vegetables, only cooking those together that take the same time to cook. For instance the carrots will take five minutes or so but the green beans will take only a minute or two. Add these to the dish in the oven.

 

To cook the steaks, heat a frying pan, add a little olive oil and fry the slices a minute or so each side depending on how pink you like your meat.

 

To serve, place one circle of sweet potato in the middle of each dish, place a slice of fillet steak on top and repeat twice. Butter the remaining vegetables if wished and arrange them around the meat. Return the frying pan to the heat, add the red wine and quickly reduce by two thirds. Add the stock and reduce again by two thirds. Whilst still boiling, add the butter – shaking the pan or whisking with a fork until incorporated. This will result in a shiny, slightly thickened red wine reduction or “jus” as us poncey restaurateurs tend to call it. Taste, adjust the seasoning if necessary, pour over the beef and serve.