Elegance and Rusticity: French Main Courses

RECIPES

Red wine, ruby port and peppercorns give this steak recipe a kick.

Ingredients

120g unsalted butter, softened

4 (290g to 350g) shell steaks (also called club steak, strip steak or New York steak), about 3-cm thick

Vegetable oil, for griddle

2 tsp salt, plus additional for seasoning

2 tbsp minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tsp red wine vinegar

120ml red wine

120ml ruby port

1/4 tsp black peppercorns, cracked

1 tsp coriander seeds, cracked

1 shallot, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

Freshly ground black pepper

Method

1) Melt 15g of butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and shallot and cook, stirring, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add the coriander seeds and peppercorns and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

2) Pull the pan from the heat and add the port and wine. Return the pan to the heat and, if cooking over a gas burner, tip the pan to let the alcohol ignite. (If cooking over electric or halogen, just keep cooking the…