For the Wild garlic velouté
Over a low heat in a medium sized heavy bottom pan, gently sweat the shallots in the pomace oil with a good pinch of salt until very soft but without colouring at all. The salt is really important at this point as it will both help to break down the shallot and also start to draw out its lovely sweet flavour.
Once soft, add the diced potato and sweat for a further 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the potatoes soften enough to break with a gentle squeeze of your fingers but still retaining their shape in the pan.
If you cook the potatoes too far then when you blend the velouté it will become thick and gloopy. Once cooked, add your wild garlic and parsley and cook for 15 seconds but no longer so you retain the lovely green colour to your sauce.
Now quickly transfer the velouté to a jug blender (blending in two batches if necessary) and puree until perfectly smooth. Once smooth, add the milk and butter gradually on a high speed to enrich the velouté and foam slightly. Check seasoning and serve immediately.
For the steak
A few simple techniques and rules can elevate your steak to a something worthy of a great restaurant. First and foremost is quality. Buying from a reputable butcher is the most important part of the whole process. I would recommend centre cut fillet, nicely trimmed by your butcher and cut in to thick steaks of at least 1.5 inches deep. This will allow you to get a beautifully caramelised exterior without overcooking the meat.
Secondly, a digital thermometer is a cheap and accurate way of making sure the meat is perfectly cooked. To cook the steaks, always take out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking to bring the temperature of the meat up a little as this will help ensure even cooking. Season the meat well with sea salt (no pepper as it will burn and become bitter) and place in a hot, heavy bottom sauté or frying pan with just a film of oil. Start cooking the steaks in the pan and turn every minute to ensure even cooking.
You want a nice dark, even caramel colour across the meat. Use your probe to regularly check the temperature. Once the core reaches 42oC (for rare a rare steak, or 50oC for medium) remove the meat from the pan to a plate and cover loosely in tin foil. Rest the meat for 20 minutes. This will allow the beef proteins to relax and redistribute all the lovely juices back throughout the meat leaving an altogether more succulent steak. After 20 minutes, pop the meat back in to a hot oven (180oC) for 4 minutes to heat through again, reseason and serve immediately.
For the smoked potatoes with bone marrow
Adding a subtle smoky flavour to beef is one of the best taste combinations you can get. Infusing potatoes with this smoke is a great way to introduce the flavour to the dish and extremely simple. Bone marrow is now readily available from most good supermarkets and adds a buttery, meaty richness to the plate that can’t be beaten.
Use a good quality floury potato such as a rooster. Smoked oils are available widely now, simply pour a little over the potatoes, sprinkle generously with sea salt, add a couple of knobs of butter and roast in the oven at 190oC until they are soft and fluffy in the middle and crispy on the outside. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little. Cut a shallow cross on the top of the potato and gently squeeze so the centre pops out slightly.
Drop in a nugget of bone marrow, baste with a little of the smoked oil from the tray and return to the oven for a few minutes until the marrow is cooked. Sprinkle with a little chopped parsley and serve straight away.
