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preheat the oven to 180°C.
get the steaks out of the fridge, unwrap them and bring up to room temperature.
wash the spuds and cut into chunky chips, leaving the skin on.
toss them in oil, salt and pepper and arrange on a non-stick baking tray.
bake them in the oven for 45 minutes, turning or shaking them occasionally.
melt the pack of butter in a pan slowly and then pour the pure butter out into a jug, leaving the white scum behind in the pan. This is now clarified.
dump the shallot, half of the tarragon, vinegar, wine and peppercorns into a small pan with an extra splash of water and simmer for 10 mins or so until it’s reduced to about 3-4 tbsp worth in total.
strain through a fine sieve to remove the bits and leave you with a tarragon vinegar.
put the separated egg yolks and your tarragon vinegar into a clean bowl and rest on a tea-towel to stop it moving.
whisk together and continue whisking as you slowly drip in the butter, which will have cooled slightly (should be warm but not so hot that you can’t dip your finger into it). Keep going until you have the consistency of custard, it might not need quite all of the butter.
season the béarnaise, add the other half of the tarragon leaves, finely chopped, and leave to one side in a warm place.
heat up a pan to fry your steak, cast iron is best if you have one.
oil the steak, not the pan, and season with salt and pepper before frying for a few minutes on each side, depending on how you like it cooked. Avoid moving the steak too much, just let it cook half way, then turn it and let it do the same on the other side.
leave the steak to rest on a warm plate for 2 minutes whilst you serve up the chips and make a quick salad from the rocket, cherry tomatoes and a dash of balsamic vinegar.
serve the steak with a dollop of béarnaise and tuck into this epic classic.

Serves 2

• 2 sirloin steaks, 8oz each
• 2 big potatoes
• handful of fresh rocket
• few cherry tomatoes, on the vine if possible
• drizzle of balsamic vinegar
  
  
• Béarnaise
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• couple of tarragon leaves/stalks
• splash of white wine vinegar
• splash of white wine
• few black peppercorns
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 pack of salted butter (250g)

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Steak and Béarnaise Sauce