When I was a gawky teen with too many sports and art projects on the go, my mum Frankie would knock up this cure all dinner to sort out my stamina woes. Presumably a recipe handed down to her from Scots relatives, it’s a basic concoction of boiled parsnips, carrots and a few spuds all vigorously smashed together with copious amounts of butter and seasoned like there was no tomorrow. It’s simply a lifesaving piping hot mountain of comfort plonked underneath a whacking great iron wielding steak. I’ve added a zingy herb sauce just because these days I get the guilts if there’s not enough greens.
3 parsnips, roughly peeled & chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 small potatoes, peeled & chopped
50g butter, plus extra to cook the steak
½ cup crème fraîche
1 premium scotch fillet, seasoned
Flaky salt & freshly ground pepper
Place the chopped veggies in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and cook until softened when pierced with a knife. Mash with the butter and crème fraîche until slightly chunky and combined. Season to taste. Keep warm.
Preheat a heavy based fry pan to hot. Cook the steak over high heat, turning and basting with butter until cooked to desired doneness. Set steak aside to rest.
Lay steak on top of a decent pile of the hot mash and drizzle over a little of the herb sauce. Devour immediately.
FOR THE HERB SAUCE
Handful of Italian parsley
Splash of Red wine vinegar
Olive oil, start with 3 tbsp, adding more for consistency
Salt & pepper
Using a stick mixer or mini food processor, blitz the ingredients together until combined. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Recipe and Images Fiona Hugues
