Le Caprice chopped steak Americain recipe

Like a lot of customer favourites (including salmon fishcakes, bang bang chicken and a dessert of iced berries), chopped steak was never taken off the menu at Le Caprice. This is rather like a steak haché – or a large burger without the bun. It’s important to use good-quality beef for this, with at least 20 per cent fat to keep it moist during cooking. Rib trim has a great flavour, or you could use chuck or even a mix, but make sure you tell your butcher what it’s for so that it’s fresh trim.

Timings

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 50 minutes

Serves

4

Ingredients

• 1kg good-quality, coarsely minced beef (20% fat)
• vegetable oil, for brushing

For the sauce

• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 30ml rapeseed or vegetable oil
• 1 x 227g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp American mustard
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup

Method

1. Mould the beef into four even-sized balls then flatten them and refrigerate until required.
2. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Gently cook the onion in the oil until soft but not coloured (at least 10 minutes).
3. Add the chopped tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer very gently for 25-30 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and leave to cool, then mix in the mustard and tomato ketchup.
5. A charcoal grill or barbecue is ideal for cooking the chopped steaks; alternatively, preheat a ribbed griddle pan.
6. Lightly oil and season the chopped steaks, then cook them for about 3-4 minutes on each side for medium-rare, or more or less time as preferred.
7. Serve with the sauce at room temperature.