Ingredients:
2 (6 -8 ounce) strip steaks
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic cloves, crushed
5 ounces red wine
1 teaspoon salt
Directions:
If you have the time, prepare your steaks several hours ahead. Start by crushing the peppercorns very coarsely. Take a shallow dish, large enough to hold the two steaks, without them touching. Pour in one tablespoon olive oil, mixed with half of the crushed garlic. Coat each steak evenly on both sides with the peppercorns, and pressing them in firmly (use a heavy plate to do this). Lay the steaks in the dish and spoon over the other tablespoon of oil and the rest of the garlic. Cover and leave them in the fridge for several hours, turning once.
When you’re ready to cook the steaks, you will need a cast iron skillet (or heavy based frying pan). Place it over very high heat and let it preheat until it is very hot – the more daring you can be, the better the finished dish! Now, quickly drop each steak directly into the pan. Sear them quickly on each side – about 1 minute per side.
(Do not be tempted to move the steaks other than to flip them as directed. Furthermore, flip your steaks with tongs rather than a fork, which will pierce them and allow juices to escape. ).
Once seared, lower the heat and cook them. I like them “blue” which means they are seared and very rare. For medium rare give them 3 more minutes and for well done, 4 more minutes. You won’t need to turn them.
Either way 1 minute before the end of the cooking time, pour in the wine and let it bubble and reduce down to a syrupy consistency, about 1/3 of its original volume.
This whole process is very brief, and I actually don’t even bother setting a timer, I just count the minutes in my head. Once done, sprinkle with salt and serve as quickly as possible. This is best with a mixed green salad and a basic vinegaret dressing.
Servings: 2
Time preparation: 5 min.
Time total: 10 min.