Ingredients
800g Sirloin 
2 sweet white onions, cut in half 
3 tbsps oil 
4 tsps salt 
1 tbsp sugar 

Gravy 
500g beef bones 
2 large onions, 2 sticks of celery and 2 carrots cut into
small pieces OR 1 x 500g bag of soffritto 
200ml Madeira (or Marsala or brandy) 
1 litre of beef stock 

Potato bake 
1kg potatoes (my favourite potatoes to use are Vivaldi’s which you can only get in Sainsbury’s) 
300g double cream 
2 tsp creamed horseradish (optional) 
150g cheese 
Seasoning (I use Aromat) 
Plastic carrier bag turned inside out and washed or large food bag 

Mushroom ketchup 
30g dried porcini mushrooms 
1½ tbsp vegetable oil 
2 shallot, very finely sliced 
125g chestnut mushrooms 
125g portobello mushrooms 
2 tbsp brown sugar 
1 tbsp cider vinegar 
1 tbsp white wine vinegar 
1 piece of mace 
¼ tsp of nutmeg 
½ tsp ground ginger 
1 bay leaf 
1 clove 
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 
1 tbsp Madeira (or Marsala or brandy) 
Salt 
Pepper 

Glazed vegetables 
400g baby carrots  
Brussels, the amount largely depends on how much you like them! 
25g butter 
50ml boiling water 
1 tbsp sugar 
Salt 
Pepper 

Equipment needed 
Food processor or stick blender 
Sterilised jar 

Method
Start with your jus.  Brown the bones on a medium heat (this will take around 10-15 minutes and is where all of the flavour comes from so don’t rush this stage). Add the soffritto and cook for a further 5-7 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the alcohol and bring to a hard boil to burn off the alcohol. Add the stock, bring back to the boil, cook hard for a minute or so and then lower the heat and cook for 1-1½ hours stirring occasionally until reduced and full of flavour.  When you are happy with the consistency and taste just turn off.  If at any point you think you have reduced too far just add 200ml boiling water, this gravy is quite forgiving. 

Turn to your mushroom ketchup.  Soak your porcini mushrooms in 300ml of boiling water in a small jug,  Stir from time to time as they soak for half an hour or so. 

Preheat the oven to 180c and remove the sirloin from the fridge and leave to one side for 1 hour to come up to room temperature. 

You now need to either chop your mushrooms very very small (so they are literally little bits) or pulse in a food processor, whatever you do, do not blend otherwise you will have mush rather than the little bits needed.  The reason you need your mushrooms chopped so small is to extract every little bit of flavour.  If you are chopping by hand expect this to take at least 10 minutes.  Just a word on mushrooms, they do not need peeling or washing.  If you find any earth or dirt on them just gently brush off, I use some kitchen roll. 

If using a food processor, cut the mushrooms into pieces, put in and pulse until small - I find this takes 10-15 pulses.  If cutting by hand, chop them all in pieces and then with a very large knife just keep chopping and chopping until small. 

Heat a heavy based pan over a medium heat and put in 1 tbsp of oil.  Add the shallot and cook for 3-5 minutes until cooked through, soft and just beginning to go golden, you want them to stay light so there is no bitterness.  Add the remaining oil and add the mushrooms, a tsp of salt, 8 grinds of black pepper, stir and cook for around 15 minutes until all of the water has come out of the mushrooms and completely evaporated. 

Moving on to your potato bake: peel your potatoes.  You can then either slice on a mandolin or cut into chunks.  Honestly it depends on my mood, on who I am cooking for and how long I have as to what I do.  I love the chunks but the slices look neater.  Put the potatoes into the bag and seal. Put the microwave on full power for 5 mins.  After 5 mins carefully remove the bag and jiggle, put back in for another 5 minutes.  After a total of 10 minutes cooking time carefully push one of the potatoes between your finger and your thumb, it should give.  If it is still very firm but back in for another 5 minutes. 

Meanwhile remove the now hydrated porcini mushrooms from the liquid (keep this to one side)  and finely chop up.  Add these to the mushrooms and give it a good stir. 

Add the brown sugar, both vinegars, all of the spices and the Worcestershire sauce and give it a good stir.  You want to add the mushroom liquid now but be very careful, at the bottom will be grit so add slowly and leave the bottom 20-50mls in the jug.   Add the marsala, give the pan a good stir, turn up the heat and bring to the boil.  Once boiling reduce the heat to medium low and cook for around 30 minutes, stirring from time to time to stop it from sticking and catching.  At the end of the cooking time all of the liquid will be gone. 

Without trimming the onions, cut in half through the root ends.  You need the onions to stay together so very very carefully peel off the outer layers then cut off the very top and the very bottom of the root so it is neat. Heat a frying pan with a tbsp of oil in a pan that can go into the oven on a high heat.  On the cut side put some salt and a little sugar. Add the onions to the pan, cut side down and reduce the heat to medium low and cook until the onions are charred (15 minutes or so). Put into the oven for half an hour until soft. 

Moving back to the potato bake: put half of the potatoes into an oven dish, cover in half of the cream, season and then top with the rest of the potatoes, the rest of the cream, more seasoning and  the cheese.  Bake for half an hour. 

After the 30 minutes the mushroom mixture should be very thick and there should be no liquid left in the bottom.  Find the mace and clove and remove.  Blend until smooth either in a food processor or with a stick blender.  If you use a stick blender put into a cup or jug and be very careful as the mushroom mixture is hot.  Blend until completely smooth. 

Pass the mushroom mixture through a sieve into a clean saucepan so that you know you have all lumps removed and that your sauce is smooth.  If the sauce looks too thick add 1 tbsp of water - you are ultimately looking for the consistency of tomato ketchup.  Place on a medium heat and stirring continuously bring to the boil.  Remove from the heat, add the brandy, stir and place back on the heat until bubbling again then turn off.  Check the seasoning and adjust to your taste. Put to one side. 

Carefully sieve your sauce into a small pan.  Push the now soft vegetables and bones against the sieve to extract as much flavour as you can into your sauce.  Check for seasoning and adjust if needed. 

Put a frying pan on a high heat and when smoking hot add 2 tsp oil followed swiftly by the sirloin, fat side down, moving it for the first few seconds so that it does not stick. Reduce the heat to medium and leave alone until a rich golden crust has formed, roughly 5-7 minutes. Season and turn over and repeat for all sides.  Add 10g of butter to the pan and baste for a few minutes.  Remove from the heat and allow to rest covered by a piece of foil. 

Meanwhile Carefully and lightly peel the carrots and clean the top ensuring there is no dirt or grit.  Cut the very bottom of the sprout off and remove 2 or 3 of the outer leaves. 

Put the water, butter, sugar and some salt into a large wok or frying pan and turn the heat to medium high.   When the butter has melted add the carrots and the sprouts and cook for 4-6 minutes shaking the pan from time to time. Your vegetables should be tender but not be soft. 

Take out the onions from the oven and leave to cool enough that you can separate each layer into ‘petals’.  Put back into the turned off oven to keep warm while you finish the dish. 

Warm your sauce on a medium heat. 

Cut the sirloin against the grain for the most tender meat.  Sprinkle with a little salt once cut. 

I served this by putting the potato bake into the middle and putting the sliced sirloin over the left hand side of it.  Put some mushroom ketchup beside the steak, the onion petals to the right hand side of the potato bake and the sauce drizzled over.