I must admit, when it comes to romantic dinners, there’s nothing more perfect than a beautifully cooked steak. It’s so easy to make, and best of all, with the right accoutrements it looks very impressive – especially on the one day where impressions count for so much!

A Menu for Two:

• Starter: Green Bean and Rocket Salad
• Main: Seared Fillet Steak with Cracked Pepper Sauce
• Side dish: Shoestring Chips
• Dessert: Passion Fruit Mousse with Vanilla Sables

Starter – Green bean and rocket salad

This very simple salad needs little or no preparation but adds a lovely fresh crunch to the start of any meal. It can be served hot or at room temperature.

Ingredients

• 225g French beans, trimmed
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small shallot, finely sliced
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
• a pinch of salt
• 25g fresh rocket

Method

Plunge the French beans into a large pan of salted boiling water. Blanch for 2 minutes until just tender, then drain and refresh under cold water.

Place the pan back on the heat. Add the olive oil, shallot and garlic, then sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add the blanched French beans and cook for another two minutes, tossing occasionally. Scatter the parsley over the top, toss to combine and season with salt.

To serve, arrange the rocket on a plate and spoon the French bean mixture on top.

Main – Seared Fillet Steak with Cracked Black Pepper Sauce

I like this recipe because the pepper sauce can be made well in advance and kept covered in the fridge until you are ready to serve your steak.

Ingredients

• 2 x 150g fillet steaks
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cracked Black Pepper Sauce:

• large knob of butter
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• 75g button mushrooms, sliced
• 50ml whiskey
• ½ tsp cracked black pepper
• 85ml beef stock
• 85ml single cream

Onion Rings:

• sunflower oil, for deep-frying
• 1 large Spanish onion
• 25 g (1oz) plain flour

Method

Preheat the oven to 180˚C/350˚F/Gas 4 and a deep-fat fryer to 180˚C/350˚F (if you don’t have a deep-fat fryer, you can also heat up to 5 cm of sunflower oil in a wok or deep-sided sauté pan).

To make the black pepper sauce, heat a pan and add the butter. Once it is melted and foaming, add the shallot and mushrooms. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the shallot has softened and the mushrooms are tender, tossing the mixture occasionally.

Then add the whiskey and cracked black pepper. Burn off some of the alcohol by tipping the edge of pan – if you’re using a gas hob, this should all burn up in one large flame.

Stir in the stock and slowly add the cream. Reduce for about 5 minutes until you have achieved a thick, creamy consistency. Season to taste, set aside and keep warm until needed.

For the steak, heat the olive oil in a heavy-based ovenproof frying pan over a high heat until smoking. Season the steaks with plenty of black pepper and cook for 1 minute on each side to seal in the juices, then transfer to the oven and cook the steak for another 5-10 minutes, turning once, depending on how rare you like your meat.

Transfer the cooked steak to warmed plates, season with salt and set aside in a warm place to rest while you assemble the dish. Pour any juices that run off the meat into your pepper sauce for added flavour.

To make the onion rings, peel the onion and slice into 1 cm slices, then separate into rings. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and leave to stand for 2-3 minutes and then toss in the flour. Shake off the excess flour and deep-fry for 2-3 minutes until crisp and golden brown. Drain well on kitchen paper and keep warm.

To serve, pile the crispy onion rings on top of the rested steaks. Lightly drizzle the cracked black pepper sauce around the steaks.

Side dish – Shoestring Chips

These are an excellent accompaniment to any fillet steak dish. For extra crunch, the potato needs to be cut very finely. This is best done with a mandolin.

Ingredients

• sunflower oil, for deep-frying
• 450g large potatoes
• a good pinch of salt

Method

Heat the sunflower oil to 190˚C/375˚F in a deep-fat fryer. If you don’t have one, a large sauté pan with a cooking thermometer should suffice.

Peel the potatoes and then using the mandolin, cut them into long, thin, shoestring-like strips.

Place the potatoes in a large bowl and set aside for 3-5 minutes until the starch begins to leak from the potatoes and the mixture starts to look sticky.

Deep-fry the potatoes for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Drain on plenty of kitchen paper and season to taste.

To serve, pile the shoestring potatoes into a warmed bowl and season with the salt.

Dessert – Passion Fruit Mousse with Vanilla Sables

Not only is this gorgeous dessert the perfect way to end a special meal, but it can also be made in advance and kept in the fridge until needed.

Ingredients

Passion Fruit Mousse:

• finely grated rind of 2 lemons
• 50g caster sugar
• 2 eggs, separated
• 2 passion fruit, halved and with the pulp scooped out
• 40g butter, diced and chilled
• a handful of raspberries for decoration

Vanilla Sables:

• 50g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 25g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
• 1 vanilla pod, split in half and seeds scraped out
• 50g butter, at room temperature
• 1 egg yolk
• grapeseed oil, for brushing

Method

To make the vanilla sables, sift the flour and icing sugar into a bowl. Stir in the vanilla seeds, then add the butter and egg yolk. Beat well to form a soft dough. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes (up to 3 days is fine).

Preheat the oven to 190˚C/375˚F/Gas 5. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 3 mm thick. Use a cookie cutter to stamp out the sables before transferring them on to oiled baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes until crisp and lightly golden.

To make the passion fruit mousse, place the lemon rind in a heatproof bowl with half of the sugar, the pulp from two of the passion fruit and the egg yolks. Set over a pan of simmering water and cook over a low heat for 8-10 minutes until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, stirring occasionally. Whisk in the butter, a little at a time until smooth and shiny. Remove from heat and leave to cool.

Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until soft peaks form, then add the remaining sugar – a tablespoon at a time until stiff and shiny. Fold half into the cooled passion fruit mixture using a slotted spoon and then fold in the remainder. Spoon into martini glasses, cover with cling film and chill for at least 2 hours (overnight should also be fine).

To serve, arrange the glasses on plates and decorate each glass with the pulp from half a passion fruit and a few raspberries. Place a couple of the vanilla sables on the side for dipping. Enjoy!