Steak With Pink Peppers

A word of warning about this steak recipe - you cannot make the sauce with just any old brandy. You need to use the same stuff that you would offer guests after dinner (and that they would drink!).

Having said that, let's get on with it. If you have never used pink pepper corns before they are milder and sweeter than both the black and white variety. These days you can buy them just about anywhere.

For 4 people:

• 4 fillet, rump or porterhouse steaks, trimmed
• a little oil for cooking
• 4 crushed cloves of garlic
• 1 cup of cream
• 1/4 cup of brandy
• 2 tbs pink peppercorns

Start by crushing the peppercorns, either in a pestle and mortar, if you have one, or by putting them in a bowl and crushing with the end of a rolling pin. There's no need to crush them too finely, you want them to add a little texture to the finished sauce.

Cook the steaks to your liking in a heavy skillet with very little oil. Remember that the pan needs to be hot before you add the steaks and there should be a light haze coming off the oil. Once cooked, transfer the steaks to a serving dish and keep warm.

Add the brandy, garlic and peppercorns to the same pan and stir over a high heat for 60 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat, step back and set fire to it. Then immediately pour in the cream while stirring briskly. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook the sauce until it has thickened slightly, which will take about 4 minutes.

Pour the sauce over the steaks and serve at once.

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