| The Cafe de Paris butter we make at Bistro Moncur is a little different to the recipe that follows, which is arguably the 'original' and was given to me by my friend Franz Scheurer. It was passed to him by his Swiss father who, in turn, obtained it from a fellow chef while working at London's Savoy Hotel in 1943. Here is the history in Franz's words: "Created by Freddy Dumont in 1941, specifically to go with sirloin steak, and served in the Restaurant Cafe de Paris in Geneva, this butter, flavoured with herbs and spices, was an instant success — so much so that it was almost impossible to get into the restaurant for years. Only a few restaurants worldwide are reputed to serve the original recipe, among them Le Relais de l'Entrecôte and L'Entrecôte de Paris, both in Paris, and the Cafe de Paris in San Francisco. The original Restaurant Cafe de Paris in Geneva still exists [albeit under new management] and still has the butter on the menu." For a near-perfect meal, serve this steak with shoestring chips [frozen are fine] and a simple green salad.
Serves 8 Ingredients 8 x 240g sirloin steaks, most of the fat trimmed away Olive oil ½ quantity Cafe de Paris butter [see below] Cafe de Paris butter 1kg soft unsalted butter 60g tomato ketchup 25g Dijon mustard 25g capers [in brine], rinsed and coarsely chopped 125g French shallots, finely diced 50g curly leaf parsley, finely chopped 50g chives, finely chopped 5g each of dried marjoram and dill 5g thyme leaves, lightly chopped 10 French tarragon leaves, lightly chopped Pinch of ground dried rosemary 1 clove garlic, very finely chopped 8 anchovy fillets, rinsed and finely chopped 1tbs each of brandy and Madeira 1tsp Worcestershire sauce ½tsp sweet paprika ½tsp curry powder [Keen's] Pinch of cayenne pepper 8 white peppercorns, finely ground Juice of 1 lemon Finely grated rind of ½ lemon Finely grated rind of ¼ orange 1-1½ tsp salt Method To make the Cafe de Paris butter, beat the butter until creamy — either by hand or on low speed in an electric mixer. In a separate bowl, thoroughly combine all the remaining ingredients before adding to the butter. Mix again with a large spoon or on low speed in the mixer. Place a double thickness of foil 20cm in length on a workbench and place half the butter along the closest edge, leaving about 5cm free at either end. Roll into a log shape about 5cm in diameter, twisting the ends to seal. Repeat with another length of foil and the other half of the butter, then refrigerate until set. Heat a cast-iron or electric chargrill until quite hot but not aggressively so. Rub the steaks lightly with olive oil and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper on the side to be cooked first. Grill until well coloured on that side, then season the raw side, turn over and grill to your liking. As the meat will continue to cook when it comes off the grill, it is advisable to slightly under-cook it and allow a resting time of at least 5 minutes for the meat to relax. Slice off the fat and the sinew that lies against it. Carve each steak diagonally across its width into 5 or 6 slices. Lay the steaks on plates and divide the sliced Cafe de Paris butter between them. Place under a very hot grill until the butter is melted and slightly coloured. Note: this recipe makes enough for 16 servings of Cafe de Paris butter. Because it is essential that the ingredients are weighed accurately, please don't be tempted to halve the recipe as the smaller quantities are hard to measure precisely. Cafe de Paris butter will keep for several months in the freezer, but is best used within a few weeks; transfer the required amount of frozen butter to the fridge a couple of hours before it is needed so it will melt readily under a hot grill. |
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