Flash Fried Steak with Quick Dauphinoise potatoes and healthy Black Pepper Sauce.

Flash Fried Steak with Quick Dauphinoise potatoes and
healthy Black Pepper Sauce.

So often cooking is about using what you can get hold of, rather than being
able to cook what you want. To me cooking is about creativity- if i want the
same every time I'll go to McDonalds. This particular concoction came about
whilst house sitting at my Mother-in-law's house. The local shop yielded spuds,
onions, some 'frying steak', garlic seasoning and a tub of live yoghurt. A raid
of Sue's cupboard provided some tomatoes, mushrooms, milk, butter and black
pepper and we were in business!!

First of all- a word about the steak. It was pre packed, it was on sale in a
late night shop in Leeds, and had almost certainly once been part of a cow. It
was fresh, but had quite a lot of gristle running through it- in short 'beggars
can't be choosers' - you can't expect meat like this to be anything like as nice
as a prime fillet from your local butcher- even though it cost nearly as much.
There's not much you can do with it except cook it so long that the gristle and
fat turns crunchy, and hope the meat doesn't. I fried this steak for about 8
mins a side on a medium heat in oil and butter. I grilled mushrooms and tomatoes
on top of the steak to keep it moist.

Quick Dauphinoise potatoes are a real joy!- Personally i find the
traditional French oven cooked dish on the rich side and a lot of faffing about.
These are cooked in a pan on the stove, and are ready in about 20 mins. Slice
the tatty's thinly (peel them if you must) and boil them in salted water for
about ten mins. Drain them and stir in some milk mixed with yoghurt (just enough
to coat the potatoes after a thorough stirring) and season with plenty of salt
and garlic (ideally fresh and crushed- i just used the garlic seasoning from the
shop on the day though). Cover the pan and cook on a low heat for another 6 or
seven minutes, adding more milk and yoghurt if the dish starts to dry out or
burn.

Healthy Black Pepper Sauce is ready in moments, and has less calories
than the classic sauce au'poivre cooked with cream.- Finely chop an onion and
fry it in a little oil until softened, crumble in a beef stock cube and stir in
a cup full of natural yoghurt. Keep stirring as you mill in fresh black pepper
to taste- Continue to stir, and bring the sauce gently to the boil, pour it over
the Steak and Potatoes. Sit down, take a sip of wine, relax and Enjoy