Steak with pepper sauce is as an old classic but today's recipe gives it an entirely new twist because we will be using green peppercorns and serving it with large brown mushrooms.

Mushrooms go very well with steak but care must be taken not to overcook them because there is nothing worse than soggy mushrooms. A quick fry over high heat is the answer because the mushrooms really just have to be scarred quickly on both sides and then removed from the heat.

The green peppercorn we will be using in this recipe is also much gentler and tastier than the rather sharp bite of black peppercorn and it really enhances the taste of the meat and mushrooms.

To serve four portions of fillet steak with mushrooms and green pepper sauce you need:

Ingredients

4x 250-300g fillet steaks, sliced into 4cm thick slices

4-8 brown mushrooms, stems removed

Olive oil for cooking

For the marinade:

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

½ onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1 tablespoon mango chutney

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup red wine

For the green pepper sauce:

1 tablespoon green pepper corns, well drained

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

100g butter

Method

Mix all ingredients for the marinade together, pour over the steak, cover and set aside for about 90 minutes.

Then, in an oven proof dish, mix all the ingredients for the pepper sauce.

Place the dish over a pot of gently simmering water and whisk until sauce thickens and is well mixed.

Remove sauce from the heat, set aside and keep warm.

To fry the mushrooms heat a large frying pan, add a little olive oil (just enough to coat the bottom of the pan) and quickly fry the mushrooms on both sides over high heat.

Remove mushrooms from the pan, set aside and keep warm.

Now onto cooking the steak.

Remove the meat from the marinade and dab off excess marinade with paper cloth.

Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and over high heat fry steak pieces to taste (fillet steak is at its best served rare, so depending on the pan, heat and meat, two to three minutes on each side should be fine).

To serve, divide the steak between four warmed plates.

Place the mushroom on top of the meat and then spoon the green pepper sauce over the steak and mushroom.

Serve with potato (fried, baked or mashed) and a lightly steamed green vegetable such as broccoli, asparagus or cauliflower.

Wine recommendation

Waterford Cabernet Sauvignon  2008 – Stellenbosch - R147.00

Lovely full-bodied wine with ripe blackberry aromas with layers of spicy/ chocolate and cassis fruit on the palate.

To order, email Wine Concepts