Steak with red wine sauce and rice

Method

1. This uses one batch (about 200ml) of red wine sauce, one of two ways, not both. Home-made: make our red wine sauce up to the end of its step 5 (strained, before the cold butter), about 33 minutes (longer in a narrow pot), and leave it in its pan. Shop-bought jus: you warm it in step 7.
2. As the sauce starts, season the steaks. Pat them dry with kitchen paper, then sprinkle about ¾ teaspoon of fine salt over each one (1 teaspoon if flaky), from a height so it lands evenly, both sides and the fat edge. Leave them on a plate at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes. The salt draws out juice that soaks back in, seasoning the meat right through.
3. When the sauce goes in with its stock, rinse the rice until the water runs almost clear. Put it in a pan with 450ml of water and a pinch of salt and bring to the boil over a high heat. Cover, turn to the lowest heat and cook until the water has gone and steam holes dot the surface, 10 to 12 minutes. Keep it covered off the heat.
4. Pat the steaks dry again, as the salt leaves a little moisture on the surface, and rub them with the oil. Grind black pepper coarsely over both sides and press it in. Set a large, heavy frying pan over a high heat until it is smoking hot, 3 to 4 minutes. A dry surface and a very hot pan give a dark, savoury crust.
5. Lay two steaks in the pan with space between them and leave them alone until a deep brown crust forms, about 2 minutes, then turn. Cook 2 to 3 minutes a side in all for medium-rare (52°C in the centre) or 3 to 4 minutes a side for medium (57°C). Press the centre: medium-rare feels soft and springy.
6. In the last minute of each pair, turn the heat to medium and add half the butter (15g) and 1 garlic clove. As the butter foams and turns nutty brown, tilt the pan and spoon it over the steaks again and again, about 1 minute. Move the pair to a warm plate under foil, discard the garlic, then sear and baste the other two the same way.
7. Rest the steaks under foil for 5 minutes, so the juices settle back into the meat. Meanwhile, finish the sauce. Home-made: reheat it gently, then whisk in its cold butter as in its step 6, 2 to 3 minutes. Shop-bought jus: warm it in a small pan until steaming, about 2 minutes. Stir in any juices from the steaks.
8. Fluff the rice with a fork, stirring in the 15g of butter and a pinch of salt. Slice the steaks across the grain into thick strips, lay them over the rice and finish each with a few flakes of salt and a grind of pepper. Spoon the warm red wine sauce over the top and serve straight away.