The key to a good steak is simple. Look for well-aged meat with plenty of marbling (the little white streaks going through the meat), as this is where your flavour comes from. Of all the demonstrations I do around the country, a perfectly cooked steak is always something people want to see.
You can replace the onion and mustard seed compote with crozier blue cheese with the more traditional peppercorn sauce if you prefer, but it’s something different for those of you who fancy a change.
Steak with red
onion and mustard seed compote
and crozier
blue gratin
2 aged sirloin steaks
Rock salt
Pepper
A slice of crozier blue cheese
For the compote
3 red onions
2 tbsp of mustard seeds
Dash of Worchester sauce
4 tbsp of red wine vinegar
Dash of tobasco
2 tbsp of Heinz tomato ketchup
To make the compote, sauté onions until soft, add the remaining ingredients and cook it slowly, making sure to mix every three to four minutes. Season to taste.
Set the steak at room temperature for at least one hour. Heat a heavy-based frying pan. Rub rock salt onto the steak, on both sides. Fry on each side, turning every two minutes, until the desired temperature is reached.
Rest the steak for approximately two minutes on a plate prior to serving, in order to allow the juices to settle.
Top with a spoon of the red onion mustard seed compote and a slice of crozier blue cheese. Place under the grill to melt the cheese and serve.Top tip: the firmer a steak becomes, the more well-cooked it is.
Honeycomb with
chocolate sauce
“Thank Crunchie it’s Friday.” As a kid I grew up with those words ringing in my ears and to this day it’s still one of my chocolate bars of choice.
It was a momentous day when I made honeycomb for the first time as a young commis chef and the Irish people’s love affair with honeycomb is as strong as ever.
Regardless of what dessert you put it in, it’ll almost always be the most popular. Here is a beautiful, simple recipe with warm chocolate sauce for you to try. Like all caramels, be careful with the mixture as you work it, as you’ll be heating it up to 160°C.
This is a lovely accompaniment to serve with dessert this Christmas. Add a touch of ground cinnamon and cloves to give it that extra Christmas twist. You can also break it up into pieces, coat with chocolate, cool and serve with coffee.
200g of caster sugar
50ml of water
50ml of honey
1 tbsp of liquid glucose
1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
For the chocolate sauce
115g of caster sugar
60ml of water
175g of 55% plain chocolate
30g of unsalted butter
30ml of brandy
To make the honeycomb, place the sugar, honey, glucose and water in a pot and using a sugar thermometer heat it up to 160°C. Line a deep tray with parchment paper. Once the mixture hits 160°C, add the bicarbonate of soda, whisking continuously. This is when you need to be careful as the mix will begin to rise and bubble. As it rises, pour it onto the parchment-lined dish. Leave it to cool, then break it up into chunks.
To make the chocolate sauce, place the sugar and water in a pot and heat until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the chocolate until melted, then add the remaining ingredients. DO NOT BRING TO A BOIL. Add brandy. You can serve the chocolate sauce at room temperature or poured over the honeycomb and served with ice cream.
The key to a good steak is simple. Look for well-aged meat with plenty of marbling (the little white streaks going through the meat), as this is where your flavour comes from. Of all the demonstrations I do around the country, a perfectly cooked steak is always something people want to see.
You can replace the onion and mustard seed compote with crozier blue cheese with the more traditional peppercorn sauce if you prefer, but it’s something different for those of you who fancy a change.
Steak with red
onion and mustard seed compote
and crozier
blue gratin
2 aged sirloin steaks
Rock salt
Pepper
A slice of crozier blue cheese
For the compote
3 red onions
2 tbsp of mustard seeds
Dash of Worchester sauce
4 tbsp of red wine vinegar
Dash of tobasco
2 tbsp of Heinz tomato ketchup
To make the compote, sauté onions until soft, add the remaining ingredients and cook it slowly, making sure to mix every three to four minutes. Season to taste.
Set the steak at room temperature for at least one hour. Heat a heavy-based frying pan. Rub rock salt onto the steak, on both sides. Fry on each side, turning every two minutes, until the desired temperature is reached.
Rest the steak for approximately two minutes on a plate prior to serving, in order to allow the juices to settle.
Top with a spoon of the red onion mustard seed compote and a slice of crozier blue cheese. Place under the grill to melt the cheese and serve.Top tip: the firmer a steak becomes, the more well-cooked it is.
Honeycomb with
chocolate sauce
“Thank Crunchie it’s Friday.” As a kid I grew up with those words ringing in my ears and to this day it’s still one of my chocolate bars of choice.
It was a momentous day when I made honeycomb for the first time as a young commis chef and the Irish people’s love affair with honeycomb is as strong as ever.
Regardless of what dessert you put it in, it’ll almost always be the most popular. Here is a beautiful, simple recipe with warm chocolate sauce for you to try. Like all caramels, be careful with the mixture as you work it, as you’ll be heating it up to 160°C.
This is a lovely accompaniment to serve with dessert this Christmas. Add a touch of ground cinnamon and cloves to give it that extra Christmas twist. You can also break it up into pieces, coat with chocolate, cool and serve with coffee.
200g of caster sugar
50ml of water
50ml of honey
1 tbsp of liquid glucose
1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
For the chocolate sauce
115g of caster sugar
60ml of water
175g of 55% plain chocolate
30g of unsalted butter
30ml of brandy
To make the honeycomb, place the sugar, honey, glucose and water in a pot and using a sugar thermometer heat it up to 160°C. Line a deep tray with parchment paper. Once the mixture hits 160°C, add the bicarbonate of soda, whisking continuously. This is when you need to be careful as the mix will begin to rise and bubble. As it rises, pour it onto the parchment-lined dish. Leave it to cool, then break it up into chunks.
To make the chocolate sauce, place the sugar and water in a pot and heat until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the chocolate until melted, then add the remaining ingredients. DO NOT BRING TO A BOIL. Add brandy. You can serve the chocolate sauce at room temperature or poured over the honeycomb and served with ice cream. 
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