Veal T-Bone with Girolles, Sage, Crispy Potatoes and Cheese Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 x 600g (approximately) veal T-Bone steak
• Freshly ground salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 knob unsalted butter
• Sunflower oil, for frying
• Veal Sauce:
• 150g veal bones
• 95g carrots, diced
• 95g onion, diced
• ½ bulb of garlic, cloves peeled and crushed
• 1 sprig of thyme
• 175ml red wine
• 1 ¼ litre veal stock
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• Unsalted butter, as needed
• Potatoes:
• 1.5kg floury potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes (just before boiling)
• Freshly ground salt, to taste
• Sunflower oil, for deep frying
• 1 bunch sage leaves
• Cheese Sauce:
• 160g cheddar, grated
• 50g plain flour
• 50g unsalted butter
• ½ tbsp truffle paste
• 750ml milk, full fat
• Freshly ground salt & pepper, to taste
• Mushrooms:
• 200g girolles (i.e. chanterelle mushrooms)
• 20g unsalted butter
• Sunflower oil, for frying
• To Serve:
• Truffle, finely grated, to garnish (if desired)
• Lilliput capers, to taste (if desired)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C / 350 F / Gas Mark 4.
2. Start by making the veal sauce.
3. Place the veal bones onto an oven-proof tray and roast until golden, approximately 30 to 40 minutes. Whilst these are cooking, pop the sunflower oil into a large saucepan and place it over a medium heat, then add the carrot, onion and garlic, and cook until golden and caramelised, stirring regularly (approximately 10 to 15 minutes). Once the vegetables are cooked, pour the red wine in and bring the pan to a simmer, then leave to simmer until the mixture becomes thick and has a syrup-like texture.
4. Next, tip the roasted veal bones into the pan before adding the veal stock and thyme. Bring the pan to the boil again and then simmer for 40 minutes.
5. Whilst the veal sauce is simmering, pop a pinch of freshly ground salt into a separate pan of water and bring to the boil. Peel and cube the potatoes, then add the cubes to the boiling water and simmer for approximately 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes, place them on a baking tray and pop to one side.
6. After the veal sauce has simmered for 40 minutes, strain it through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan. Next, place the pan over the heat and leave the sauce to simmer gently until it reduces to the correct consistency for a sauce, during which time you can prepare the potatoes and cheese sauce.
7. First, cook the potatoes some more. Heat a deep-fat fryer (or a deep pan of sunflower oil) to 140 degrees C and fry the boiled potatoes until very lightly golden (approximately 5 to 8 minutes). [NB: This can be done in batches if necessary.] Once cooked, lift the potato cubes out of the oil using a slotted spoon and leave them to drain on some kitchen paper. [NB: This allows them to cool before they are fried again just before serving.]
8. Next, make the cheese sauce. Pop a saucepan over a medium heat and melt the butter, then add the flour and cook for 5 minutes, stirring with a whisk continuously throughout. Once the 5 minutes has passed, begin adding the milk a little at a time, whisking continuously to ensure that the flour mixture is fully incorporated into the milk without any lumps. Once all the milk has been added, continue to stir the mixture, over the heat, using a whisk until it starts to thicken becoming a bechamel sauce. At this point, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the grated cheddar until it is fully combined with the sauce. Add the truffle paste and season to taste, then cover and keep warm until ready to serve.
9. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C / 350 F / Gas Mark 4.
10. Now for the veal T-bone steaks. Place a large frying pan over a high heat and add a dash of sunflower oil. Pat the steaks dry, then season generously with salt and pepper. Once the pan and oil are hot, add the veal. [NB: You may need to cook them one at a time, or use two frying pans, if your pan is not big enough.] Cook the steaks until they colour evenly on both sides, then add a knob of butter and baste the steaks in the pan for 1 minute. Transfer the steaks onto an oven proof tray and pop them in the oven until they are cooked all the way through (approximately 13 minutes).
11. Heat the deep-frying oil back up, to 180 degrees C this time.
12. Whilst the steaks are in the oven and the deep-frying oil is heating, finish the veal sauce and cook the mushrooms.
13. Once the veal sauce has reached the correct consistency, weigh it, then add 25g of butter to it for every 100g of sauce and blend it together (i.e. using a hand blender). Keep the sauce warm until ready to serve.
14. Now, place a frying pan over a high heat and add a dash of sunflower oil. Once the pan and oil are hot, add the mushrooms and fry for 4 or 5 minutes, then 20g of unsalted butter, season to taste and place to one side, keeping them warm until ready to serve.
15. After the veal steaks are cooked, remove from the oven and leave to rest on a warm plate for at least 6 minutes.
16. Finally, finish cooking the potatoes. Deep fry them for a final time, until crisp and golden brown, then lift the potato cubes out of the oil using a slotted spoon and leave them to drain on some kitchen paper.
17. Once all the potatoes are cooked, and whilst the oil is still hot (ideally around 160 degrees C), throw in the sage leaves and cook them until they are crisp and stop releasing bubbles (approximately 1 minute). Once cooked, lift the sage out of the oil using a slotted spoon and leave it to drain on some kitchen paper.
18. Now you are ready to bring the whole dish together. Carve the steaks into slices and place them on a warm serving plate. Place the potatoes into a warm serving bowl and spoon over a generous amount of the cheese sauce. Spoon the remaining cheese sauce over the meat and garnish with mushrooms and crispy sage. Then serve the steak with capers and the potatoes with truffle, if desired.