Ingredients
- Sea salt
- 8 baby rooster potatoes
- Vegetable oil
- 2 x 250g fillet steaks
- Sea salt
- 100ml cognac
- 2 tbs freshly ground black pepper – Sarawak if available
- 1 tbs red wine vinegar
- 400ml cream
- 30g butter
- 1 tbs pickled green peppercorns (if none, add another tbs of black pepper)
- Lemon juice, to season
- Preheat the oven to 190 degrees. Place a medium-sized pot of heavily salted water on the hob and bring to the boil. Peel the baby roosters, then add them to the water and simmer for six or seven minutes until the outside of the potato is breaking down. Strain, then place the strained potatoes back in the pot and cover with a dry tea towel to steam dry for 10 minutes.
- While the potatoes are steam drying, add a good glug of vegetable oil to a small, ridged oven tray or oven dish and carefully place in the oven to heat the oil. Then, using tongs, carefully place the blanched potatoes into the hot oil and cook in the oven for 10 minutes, turning after five minutes, then remove. The rest of the cooking of the potatoes will be done in the air fryer.
- Preheat the air fryer to 200 degrees. Place the roast potatoes in and cook for approximately 12-15 minutes, shaking them every two to three minutes until golden brown and crispy, then season with some more sea salt before serving.
- When the potatoes go into the air fryer, start to cook the steaks. Heat a non-stick frying pan until it is smoking hot, then add the oil. Season the steaks liberally with sea salt, then brown on all sides in the pan.
- Now reduce the heat slightly and keep turning the steaks every 30 seconds. Use a metal skewer to check the internal temperature of the steak: when medium rare, the skewer should be warm to touch (if you have a meat thermometer, aim for approximately 54 degrees for medium rare). Remove the steaks and rest them for five minutes on a plate.
- While the steaks are resting, pour the cognac into the pan (be careful if using a gas hob as the cognac can briefly ignite). Next, add the black pepper and the vinegar and cook out for a minute until the liquid has almost evaporated. Then add the cream and reduce by half before adding the butter and green peppercorns. Cook over a high heat for two minutes until a thick sauce-like consistency is reached.
- Now return the steaks to the pan, along with all the resting juices from the plate. Coat the steaks in the sauce, season with a touch of lemon juice, and serve warm, with the crispy roast baby roosters on the side.
