French Style Steak and Chips

PREPARING THE STEAKS

1. Simply mix the olive oil, crushed garlic cloves, the juice of half a lemon, and the freshly chopped parsley together. Season with salt and black pepper.
2. Place steaks in a shallow dish side by side. Rub the mixture onto the steaks ensuring all surfaces of the meat are covered on both sides. Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate for 1 and a half hours.
3. After 1 and a half hours, remove the marinated steaks from the fridge and allow to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking.

THE CHIPS

1. Pre-heat oven to 200C, Fan 180C, Gas 6.
2. Peel potatoes or leave skin on, whichever you prefer.
3. Slice potatoes into chunky chips and place in a large pan of cold salted water. Bring the pan up to the boil and remove from heat when it begins to boil. Drain the chips into a colander. Allow to stand for 2-3 minutes.
4. Then add the chips to a clean bowl and coat evenly with olive oil and salt.
5. Spread the chips evenly onto a baking tray and place on middle shelf of the oven for 20-25 minutes, turning occasionally during cooking until crispy and golden.
6. About 5-10 minutes before the chips are due out of the oven, heat a heavy based, non-stick pan until hot on a high heat.

COOKING THE STEAK

1. Remove steaks from dish and add to pan, pressing the whole steak down to ensure it has full contact with the pan to encourage the delicious caramelised flavours to develop.

The following guide may be of help.

For Rare: 2-3 minutes each side

For Medium: 3-4 minutes each side

For Well done: 4-5 minutes each side

Your steak will then have to stand before serving. (For a medium steak, I would allow 2 minutes, a bit longer for a rare steak and a little less for a well done steak). Serve with chips straight from the oven.

Gaynor's Tip: A glass of full bodied red is all that is needed to accompany this!