Côte de Boeuf with Dauphinoise Potatoes

Here's a fantastic treat for a romantic night in from the new Pipers Farm Sustainable Meat Cookbook.

As the saying goes, ''Cooking is like love: It should be entered into with abandon or not at all'. What better than showing someone you love them by cooking a thoughtful, delicious meal?

Côte de Boeuf with Dauphinoise Potatoes

Serves 2

1 Côte de Boeuf

A drizzle of olive oil

50g (1 3/4 oz) salted grass fed butter

2 garlic gloves, bashed

1 small bunch of thyme

For the dauphinoise potatoes

200ml (7fl oz) double cream

2 garlic cloves, grated

1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme

¼ bulb of nutmeg, grated

375g (13oz) waxy potatoes, peeled and finely sliced

Grass-fed butter, for greasing

Pure sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.

Remove the cote de boeuf from the fridge at least an hour before you plan to cook, to bring it to room temperature. Season well with salt and pepper.

To make the dauphinoise, warm the cream in a small saucepan with the thyme, garlic and nutmeg. Season the cream really well with salt and pepper. It's important to get it almost ‘overseasoned’ as it will have the job of seasoning the potatoes to do as well. Place the potatoes in a bowl, pour over the cream and mix together thoroughly.

Grease a small baking tin with butter. Layer up the potatoes in the dish until it is full. Place a sheet of baking parchment over the potatoes and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the baking parchment from the surface and return the potatoes to the oven for a further 15 minutes, until the top has taken on some colour.

Heat a wide, heavy-based frying pan until hot. Add a drizzle of oil to the outside of the cote de boeuf and place in the pan, fat side down. Use a pair of tongs to hold the piece of beef in place and carefully render down the fat, creating a lovely golden crust.

Remove the beef from the pan and drain off any excess fat. Increase the heat until the pan is very hot, then add the beef, cut-side down, and fiercely sear for 2 minutes on each side.

Once again, remove the beef from the pan and leave the pan to cool a little. Now add the butter, bashed garlic and sprigs of thyme to create an aromatic butter. Return the beef to the pan and continue to cook on each side. It is useful at this stage to have a digital thermometer probe to keep track of how the beef is cooking. For rare aim for a core temperature of 48-52C (118-126F); for medium aim for 55-58C (131-136F) and 60C+ (140F+) for well done. If you don’t have a temperature probe, cooking the beef in butter for 4 minutes on each side should work well.

Transfer the beef to a tray, pour over the butter and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Carve into thick slices and serve with the rich dauphinoise potatoes and a sharp salad.

What to drink: It's definitely an occasion to splash out on the wine which could be any medium to full-bodied red you enjoy - Bordeaux or other cabernet-merlot blends, Northern Rhone syrah, a Tuscan red, an Argentnian malbec ....

From Pipers Farm The Sustainable Meat Cookbook: Recipes and Wisdom for Considered Carnivores by Abby Allen and Rachel Lovell, published by Kyle Books at £30

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