Steak Diane

Fillet steak cooked to your own doneness and served with a luxurious sauce of fruity brandy, sweet shallots, wholegrain mustard and cream.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: British

Keyword: steak diane

Servings: people

Take the steaks out of the fridge and bring them to room temperature, which should take 20-30 min. Pat the steaks dry with a paper towel and season with salt on both sides. Melt the butter in the frying pan on medium heat and cook the steak until they develop a brown crust on both sides for 4-5 minutes on each side for a medium rare finish. Remove the steaks from the pan and allow to rest on a plate, cover to keep warm.
Add the diced shallot to the same pan sauté for 2-3 min, then add minced garlic and thyme leaves and continue sautéing while stirring constantly as garlic burns quickly for another 30 sec. Deglaze the pan with the brandy and let it reduce to almost nothing.
Now add the beef stock, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, a pinch of salt and pepper to the sauce and cook it until thickened.
Take the sauce off the heat and wait a bit until the bubbles calm down. Now add the cream to the sauce and stir everything together to blend.
Slice the steaks and serve with the sauce.

There are two important rules for getting the steak just right. The first is to take the steak from the fridge 20-30 minutes before cooking. It will cook more evenly and become tender if cooked from room temperature.
And secondly, rest the steak after cooking to allow the juices to be reabsorbed. It will only take 5 minutes but really does make a big difference.
If you don’t want to cook with alcohol, just leave it out. No need to find a substitute.
Take your time when making the sauce. Give time for the brandy and sauce to reduce.
Boiling the cream will result in it splitting. Make sure it’s only added off the heat.