The ultimate steak tartare

Serves: 1

We recently met Monsieur Lhermitte, proud proprietor of Mon Plaisir, London's oldest French restaurant, in the heart of Covent Garden. Mon Plaisir is tucked away in a quirky old building with narrow wooden staircases that twist and turn. French paraphernalia adorns the walls, in a good and cosy way. The menu is traditional French bistro in style and Monsieur Lhermitte is, well, very, very French.

With much enthusiasm and gesticulation, Monsieur Lhermitte teased us with his ultimate recipe for steak tartare. His secret ingredient makes all the difference, so he could hardly bear to share it. But, share it he did and here is the authentic recipe straight from the Frenchman's mouth. Bon appétit!

Ingredients

• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tbsp sunflower or light olive oil
• 1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard
• 5 drops Tabasco
• 5-10 drops Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp each finely chopped capers, parsley, anchovy, shallots and gherkins
• 175g fillet steak, finely chopped by hand

Method

1. Tip the egg yolk into a large bowl. Whisk in the oil until it thickens. Add a large pinch of salt and several twists of ground pepper and mix again.
2. Add the remaining ingredients, except the steak, and combine.
3. Add the steak and, with a fork, thoroughly mix the ingredients together for a good 3 minutes.
4. To make the tartare look neat, Monsieur Lhermitte places a chef’s ring on a plate and pats the tartare mixture firmly down into it, then removes the ring.
5. Voilà – you have a Mon Plaisir steak tartare!