Method

1. Get your sauce on the go. Put a pan on a medium heat. Add your beef stock (the better quality stock you use, the richer your sauce will be). Crush a small handful of peppercorns and add them to the stock. Reduce by half. Once reduced, add your splash of brandy. You can flambé it or cook it out slowly. Add a splash of cream and reduce on a low heat. Add a bit of salt to taste. The sauce, when served, should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
2. Either in a wood oven or on a stove top, heat a heavy based pan. Get it smoking hot. Add a good glug of olive oil. Pat your steak dry with some kitchen roll, so the surface has no moisture and season generously with fine sea salt and a little olive oil. Place in the red-hot pan and apply a little pressure to ensure the full steak is in contact with the pan. Cook for two mins (don’t move the steak too much). Flip and repeat on the other side. After 2-3 mins, add butter, rosemary and garlic and begin basting your steak. This helps the aromatics permeate the steak but also develops the crust with the brown butter.
3. Take your steak out of the pan and rest it for the same amount of time you had it in the pan. The resting stage is just as important as the cooking stage, as this is where the meat has time to relax, resulting in a much more tender steak.
4. Add your leeks to the steak pan and put it in the oven at a high temperature until they start to caramelise, char and soften.
5. Serve up. Carve your steak, always cut against the grain, spoon on plenty of sauce, top with the sweet, charred leeks, and enjoy!