INGREDIENTS:
4 beef fillet steaks, 270g each
12 raw shelled prawns, butterflied
4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped roughly
1 cup freshly shelled peas or frozen peas
2 egg yolks
90 g butter
½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp icing sugar
2 tbsp milk
4 tbsp milk
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil for frying
DIRECTION:
Shape steaks into rounds and tie into shape with kitchen string. Sprinkle with some freshly ground pepper. Allow to ‘air-dry’ uncovered in the fridge for about 3 hours – this is not necessary, but the meat will have a much deeper flavour that way.
Place diced potatoes in a saucepan of salted water and cook for 15 minutes or until tender. Place peas in another saucepan, cover with water and boil for about 10 minutes.
In the meantime, heat oil in a fry pan and fry the steaks for approximately 4 minutes on each side (for medium, 270g steak).
To make the sauce, place vanilla pod and butter in a small saucepan and bring butter to a bubbling boil. Remove from heat. Using tongs, remove vanilla pod from the pan, scrape vanilla bean out of the pod and place into the butter. Mix to distribute.
Whisk egg yolks and lemon juice in a small jug for about 10 seconds, you can use a handheld blender with a whisk attachment for this. Pour in the warm butter into the egg yolk mixture in a thin stream, whisking continuously. Add icing sugar and 2 tbsp milk to sweeten and thin the sauce lightly.
Allow steaks to rest in the pan for about 2 minutes after cooking. During that time fry the prawns until lightly caramelised on each side. Drain both potatoes and peas. Add 4 tbsp milk to the potatoes and mash, mix in the peas.
Notes: To serve, place a generous serving of the mash and peas on the bottom, top with steak and prawns. Spoon the hollandaise sauce over the prawns, steak and around the mash. Consume with glee. Serves 4 people.