• 500g bavette steak, or your favourite cut of steak
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 25g butter
• 4–5 sprigs thyme
• 1 garlic clove, bashed
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the peppercorn sauce

• 1 large shallot, finely diced
• 1 garlic clove, finely sliced
• 1 tbsp green peppercorns in brine, drained
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 75ml brandy
• 350ml beef or chicken stock
• 125ml double cream
• Sea salt

For the garlic and rosemary chunky chips

• 600g large Maris Piper potatoes, or other floury potatoes
• 75g beef dripping
• 3–4 sprigs rosemary
• 1 small bulb garlic, cloves separated and lightly bashed
• Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 210°C/190°C fan.

Peel the potatoes, then cut them into large, thick chips. Don’t worry about making them too uniform; they can be rough and ready. Rinse the potatoes in several changes of fresh cold water to remove some of the excess starch.

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with plenty of salted water and set over a high heat. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 5–6 minutes, or until they are just tender. Don’t let them start to break up.

Drain the potatoes into a colander and allow them to steam off for at least 5–10 minutes. It’s well worth gently tumbling them around in the colander once or twice to rough up their edges – it makes them even crispier.

Meanwhile, spoon the dripping into a large roasting tray and place it in the oven to heat up. When it’s lovely and hot, carefully turn the potatoes into the tray. Turn them through the hot dripping, then make sure they’ve all got a little space around them.

Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place in the middle of the hot oven and roast for 25–30 minutes, turning once or twice. Lift the tray from the oven, add the garlic and rosemary and give the chips another turn.

Cook for a further 20–25 minutes, or until the chips are crisp and golden. Lift them out of the tray onto a warm plate lined with kitchen paper, sprinkle with a little extra flaky sea salt and keep warm in a low oven.

While the chips are roasting, cook the steak.

Heat a large, heavy-based frying pan over a high heat until good and hot, but not smoking. Turn the steak through the olive oil, then season generously with salt and a little cracked black pepper.

Lay the steak in the pan. It will spit and sizzle, but don’t worry. Cook, pressing it down every so often with the back of a spatula, for 2½–3 minutes. Carefully turn the steak and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Add the butter, thyme and bashed garlic. As soon as the butter is bubbling and foaming, baste the steak with it. This carries the flavour of the garlic and thyme over the meat as it cooks.

After another minute or so, lift the steak out of the pan onto a warm dish, cover loosely with baking parchment and leave it to rest somewhere warm while you make the sauce.

These timings should give you a medium-rare bavette, but the cooking time will vary depending on the thickness and cut of your steak. A digital meat thermometer is the most reliable way to check it. As a guide, aim for:

Rare: 48°C
Medium-rare: 52°C
Medium: 58°C
Medium-well: 62°C
Well done: 68°C

For the peppercorn sauce, reduce the heat under the steak pan a little. Add the diced shallot and sauté it in the bubbling butter, stirring regularly, until it begins to soften, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two.

Add the green peppercorns. Coarsely crack or bash the black peppercorns and add these too. Cook for a moment to release their flavour, then add the brandy and let it bubble away vigorously.

Pour in the stock, along with any resting juices from the steak, and bring the pan up to a lively simmer. Allow the stock to reduce by at least half.

Stir in the double cream and bring the sauce back to a simmer. Let it cook gently until it has thickened enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon. Taste, season with salt if necessary, then take the pan off the heat.

Divide the garlic and rosemary chips between two warmed plates or pile them into a warm serving bowl.

Carve the steak into thick slices, cutting across the grain, and arrange them alongside the chips. Spoon over the peppercorn sauce and serve at once.