This is a killer steak recipe – as if steak needed anything to make it any more delicious!  There are two parts to this recipe, as it requires a ladleful of Spanish sauce, or Sauce Espagnole to finish off the sauce.  Have a pot of broth bubbling on hand to make this recipe super easy to put together.

FILET SAUTE AUX CHAMPIGNONS (direct translation)

Trim steaks that are cut to the thickness of about two centimetres, flatten them out, salt and pepper both sides, and fry them over a hot fire with 60 grams of butter.  When the steaks are well cooked, set them on a warm plate and toss into the pan 100 grams of mushrooms cooked in butter, with a spoonful of the meat juice, and two spoonfuls of Sauce Espagnole.  Let everything mingle for five minutes, finish it with a pat of butter, add the juice of one lemon, mix and pour over the steaks.

   Here’s a picture of making a roux for the Sauce Espagnole. The butter and flour mixture will bubble as it browns.

SAUCE ESPAGNOLE (direct translation)

Melt 60 grams of butter over a low fire; take it off of the heat, add two spoonfuls of flour, return it to the fire and stir it while it browns, until it is a light brown color; pour in a half-litre of very hot stock and stir until it thickens.

Steak With Mushrooms (a modern version)

For the steaks:

Enough steaks to feed the family

Salt and Pepper

2 Tablespoons butter (for frying the steak)

For the sauce:

3.5 ounces of mushrooms, sliced

4 Tablespoons butter, divided in half

2 Tablespoons flour

2 cups of hot, hot broth or stock

Juice of 1 lemon

1.  First of all, get the steak pan heating.  You want it fairly hot to properly brown the steaks and create the caramelizaticon that makes steak so wonderful.
2. While it is heating, lay out the steaks on a plate, and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
3. When the pan is hot, melt the first 2 tablespoons of butter, and add the steaks.  You might want to cook them one at a time if you have several.  Giving them room in the pan helps them brown.  Over-crowding can cause boiled flavors.  While the steaks are cooking, start the mushrooms sautéing with another 2 tablespoons of butter in a separate pan.
4. Keep an eye on the cooking steaks, but meanwhile, pull the sautéed mushrooms out of their pan, and melt the last 2 tablespoons of butter and add the 2 tablespoons of flour.  Mix well to make a roux, and let the roux brown slightly over a low fire while you stir it.  Once it has browned, add the 2 cups of hot stock and continue stirring until it has thickened into a gravy.  Add salt and pepper and set aside.
5. Once the steaks are all cooked, add the mushrooms into the steak pan.  Stir in a ladleful of the gravy and let the mushrooms simmer for a few minutes.  Top it off with a pat of butter (yes, more butter!), and add the lemon juice.  Pour over the steaks and serve!

{My grandmother, Claudia Meraud, was born in Nice, France.   She immigrated to the US after meeting my grandfather while he was stationed there as a US soldier in WW II.  We spent several summers together, just the two of us, living with her sister in Nice.  She passed along to me an old French cookbook titled  title is La Cuisine:  Guide Practique De La Ménagère by R. Blondeau, Chef de Cuisine.  It originally belonged to my great-grandmother, Lucie Thomas, who was a native of St. Marie-aux-Mines in Alsace.

This cookbook was published in the 1930’s, and was written as a practical guide for a household cook before the days of the fridge and the food processor.  The recipes are delicious, practical, and (of course) packed with good traditional nutrition.

I am creating translated versions of these antique recipes, re-written for the modern cook, and tested with home-grown and seasonal food.}