What is a plate of great food without a bottle of great wine? Food and wine pairing can be a tricky task, so simply consider the advice of our resident experts here at Steenberg: Executive Chef from Bistro Sixteen82 Brad Ball and Winemaker JD Pretorius. They have teamed up and discussed their likes and dislikes… The end result: if you were hosted by these two personally, this would be on the dinner table:

Steenberg 2008 Shiraz paired with a succulent Steak Au Poivre, a perfect reflection of these power-house personalities.

 

 

Steak Au Poivre

Steak au poivre is French for steak with peppercorns. It is served with a brandy peppercorn pan sauce. If you have all your ingredients at the ready, this dish should take you no longer than ten minutes to put together.

Steak au Poivre and shiraz is a match made in heaven, it’s a no brainer.

Serves Four

Ingredients:

·         4 x 250g good fillet steaks

·         Salt and pepper for seasoning

·         2 tablespoons freshly crushed black peppercorns, for sauce

·         2 tablespoons green peppercorns

·         3 teaspoon vegetable oil

·         4 tablespoons brandy

·         400ml reduced flavourful dark stock

·         100ml cream

·         1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cold

Preparation:

·         Heat a heavy based pan till smokey

·         Season the steaks on both sides heavily with salt and pepper

·         Place oil in pan and sear the steaks for about 1 ½ to 2 minutes and then turn and sear on the other side for another 2 minutes.

·         Turn the steaks over one more time for another minute

·         Remove the steaks from the pan and keep in a warm place to rest

·         Put the pan back on medium heat, add the brandy and reduce by 1/2, cooking off the alcohol

·         add the stock and peppers and bring to a simmer

·         add the cream, bring back to a simmer and then remove from the heat

·         Add the butter and swirl the sauce in the pan to emulsify the butter

·         Check for seasoning and add salt if necessary

·         Plate up steaks with homemade chunky chips or a good mash potato

·         Any juices from the resting plate should be added to the sauce

·         Pour the sauce over the steaks and enjoy with a large glass of Steenberg Shiraz