I LOVE good steak but I find that the quality of meat in UK supermarkets is not necessarily the greatest. That’s why I like to whip up a quick sauce to pour over a nice dinner of steak and veggies.
The basis for an easy sauce is called a roux. Don’t let the fancy French word scare you away, a roux is simply a combination of equal parts flour and butter. From this base you can create any number of sauces, from a creamy béchamel sauce to a quick and easy gravy.
To make the roux, melt 50g of salted butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add 50g of white flour and whisk together until you have a smooth, slightly brown paste. This takes about 2 minutes to all come together. From there, reduce the heat to low and add 600mL of milk or stock, a little at a time, and whisk to get rid of all the lumps. Milk will make creamy sauces, while adding stock can make a great gravy.
Creamy Sauces:
Add 600mL of milk to make a creamy béchamel sauce. This is great on steak as it is but it can quickly be turned into a number of sauces:
– Cheese Sauce — melt in 75g of grated cheddar cheese, just watch out not to overcook!
– Mushroom Sauce — stir in a handful of pan-fried mushrooms with all their juices
– Herb Sauce — Simply stir in a handful of chopped fresh flat leaf parsley or tarragon
Brown Sauce:
Add 600mL of beef stock to create a brown sauce; this makes a great makeshift gravy.
Experiment and have fun!
You can add whatever flavour you like to the basic sauces. Try experimenting with sautéed onions and garlic in the brown sauce. Add a teaspoon of curry powder to a béchamel sauce for a curry flavoured kick. Or for a quick mustard sauce, add 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard to a béchamel sauce. The possibilities are endless.
Pour the sauce liberally over your pan fried steak (sourced from your friendly local butcher who according to chef Chris, have the best meat cuts around). Serve with some simple boiled potatoes and some steamed broccoli and you will have your housemates drooling.
Happy cooking!
