Sirloin Steak with Peppercorn Sauce

This is quite a quick meal to make, but its expense makes it something for special occasions. It was recently Natalie's birthday, so I treated her to this. (All cooked up on a work night, I might add!)

Serves 2

For the steak:

• 2 sirloin steaks
• Olive oil
• Dried rosemary (or fresh, if you've got any)
• Salt and pepper

For the peppercorn sauce:

• 50ml brandy
• 50ml beef stock
• 2 tsp black peppercorns, roughly ground with a pestle and mortar
• 2 anchovy fillets, very finely chopped (optional)
• 150ml double cream
• 1.5 tsp Dijon mustard

To serve:

• Sautéed potatoes
• Rocket

(Note: If you're making sautéed potatoes, get them going first. They take longer than anything else in this recipe)

Rub the oil, dried rosemary, salt and pepper all over the steak. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan (large enough for both steaks) over a medium-high heat, until the oil starts to smoke. Render the fat, by placing the fatty side of the steak on the frying pan for a few seconds, before putting each steak on the frying pan. Cook the steaks for 2-2.5 minutes, then flip, and cook for another 2-2.5 minutes (for medium-rare, see below* for more cooking times). Take both steaks off the heat, place the steaks on top of the potatoes, and leave them to rest for 5 minutes while you make the sauce.

To make the sauce, add the brandy to the same pan, and scrape up anything left behind from the steaks. Add the beef stock, black peppercorns and anchovies (if you're using them), and heat over a medium heat until reduced by half. Then add the double cream and Dijon mustard. Heat up again, and then pour over the steaks.

Finally, pop the rocket on the plate, and serve immediately.

*We did the steak medium-rare. If you like it done differently, these are typical times (although we haven't tried these, so we can't promise they'll work!)

• Rare: 1.5-2 minutes each side
• Medium: 3 minutes each side
• Well done: 4 minutes each side