The Truth about Fillet Steak with Porcini and Pepper Sauce

“Oh what a tangled web we weave. When first we practice to deceive.
– Sir Walter Scott”

You are a liar, Sir! You know who you are and I’m calling you out on it. I hope your ears are reddened by being caught out in such a pathetic attempt at misdirection. I didn’t buy it at the time and I’m not buying it now. 

For the rest of you, here’s the back story. A chap, whom I know vaguely, and myself were both in a group of people discussing recipes. Someone mentioned my blog. He (the vaguely known one) pretended to be intimate with it. He pontificated about the meat and he thought he was getting away with it. He pushed his luck. He shoved it over the cliff of truthfulness, right onto the rocks of deceit. He asked why I didn’t do walk-throughs on the recipes. He assured me that he had read loads of my posts. It became obvious to me (and everybody else there) that he had never seen my blog. As is the case with the inveterate liar, he couldn’t see that we knew he was telling porkies.

So, to make him feel as small as he should, here’s the truth about one of the tastiest meals I have ever cooked, Fillet Steak with Porcini and Pepper Sauce.

Not a lot of ingredients. Truly, lots of delicious flavour.

Ingredients for two people

• A nice piece of centre cut fillet steak (enough for two)
• 2 large shallots
• Half a tablespoon of mixed red, white and green peppercorns
• 200 ml of chicken stock or equivalent of concentrated stock*
• A handful of top quality dried porcini mushrooms
• 100ml of Marsala wine
• 100ml of cream
• Salt and pepper
• A little olive oil for frying
• A bottle of great wine to accompany this delicious dish

*I make my own, concentrate it and freeze it in ice cube trays.

Just to make the point about the walkthroughs, I will show everything. First, open and decant your bottle of great wine.

I was given this bottle of Chateau Petit Gravet back in 2010.

Trim and slice the shallots.

Slice them nice and small. Small like the mind of the practised liar.

Place the mushrooms in a bowl and add some hot water.

The mushrooms are reconstituted. The water takes on huge flavour too.

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a frying pan. Sauté the shallots over a medium low heat until they become translucent.

How many times have I showed things frying for your education?

After about 20 minutes, take the mushrooms out of their water. Slice them up about the same size as the shallots.

It’s a walkthrough. That’s why I have this picture here.

Add the mushrooms to the pan. Add most of the mushroom water. Turn up the heat and reduce the sauce by about half.

Be careful to not add the bits of grit that will have sunk to the bottom.

When this has reduced by about half, add the Marsala wine.

More big flavour from this “Widows favourite” wine.

Reduce this by about half again. Season with a little salt. Add the stock, reduce again.

My stock is in concentrated form. If that fella had concentrated on the truth, I wouldn’t be showing you this.

Next add the peppercorns. In truth, you can add them earlier. I would be lying if I said otherwise.

The peppercorns bring another dimension of flavour. Lovely notes of colour too.

When the sauce is getting a bit thick, add the cream.

The sauce will have darkened, like my mood when I have to listen to damn lies.

Sir the cream in and let it thicken to a nice consistency.

The sauce will darken to a dark mushroomy brown/green as it thickens too.

While this is going on, slice the fillet into serving sized pieces.

A totally gratuitous meat slicing shot. In truth, I enjoy them.

Season the steak with salt and pepper. Heat a cast iron skillet to very hot and fry your fillet steaks.

Lovely fillet steak.

Fry until you get a nice crust on the end. Turn the steak over and place the skillet in a hot oven for 5 minutes.

Place the steak on a warm plate. Pour over the sauce. Add some green veg for colour.

I have been practicing my overhead shots.

Enjoy this delicious dish with somebody who will truly appreciate it. They will undoubtedly tell you it is the best meal they have ever tasted. They are probably not lying.

Footnote on calling out the liar: Given that the liar had not seen the blog before, I feel pretty certain that they will not bother looking at it now either. But, now you know about them and their lying ways. That makes me feel good.