Ingredients

2 very thick good quality fillet steaks, around 6cm thick

4 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

vegetable oil, for deep frying

salt and pepper, to season

watercress, to serve

6 sprigs thyme

25 g butter

olive oil

Black garlic butter (makes extra)

150g softened cultured butter

5 sprigs thyme, leaves stripped

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 cloves garlic, grated

8 cloves black garlic

rind of ½ lemon, grated

6 anchovies, finely chopped

Method

1. Microwave the potatoes for 10 minutes, then cool to room temperature. Chill in the fridge, then cut into thin chips and place on a tray lined with baking paper. Freeze for 2 hours until solid.
2. For the black garlic butter blend all the ingredients together to a coarse mixture. I prefer to keep it soft the first time I use it, and the roll it into the log and freeze it for future use after that.
3. Heat the oil in a large saucepan to about 180C. Fry the chips for about 5 minutes until golden brown. Season well with salt and pepper, and a few leaves of thyme.
4. Season the steak well with salt and pepper. Heat a frying pan until very hot and add a little oil. Fry the steak on both sides until browned, then add the separate 25 g of butter and thyme to the pan and baste the steak with the butter for a few minutes until cooked to rare (or otherwise to your liking). Rest well.
5. Cover the steak with the softened black garlic butter, flash the butter with a blowtorch and serve with the chips, and watercress dressed simply with a little olive oil and lemon juice.