Steak au poivre

For the peppercorn sauce: melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat and sweat the shallots for 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the green peppercorns and the beef consommé, turn the heat up to high and simmer vigorously for 10 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by two-thirds.

Pour in the cognac and white wine and simmer for 10 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by two-thirds again Stir in the mustard and the double cream, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper then reduce the heat to low and simmer gently.

For the steak: melt the butter in a large heavy-based frying pan over a medium-high heat, add the steaks and fry for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until cooked to your liking (you may need to do this is two batches to avoid overcrowding the pan).

To serve, stir the chopped parsley through the peppercorn sauce and pour the sauce over the steaks. Serve the fried onions alongside.