Ingredients

• 4 x 7oz fillet steaks
• 8 slices of pancetta or streaky bacon
• 8 oysters
• water reserved
• butter for frying
• 300ml/½ pint/1¼ cups of olive oil
• 400g/13oz new potatoes scrubbed and cut into 1in/2.5cm chunks
• 200g/7oz tomatoes cut into 2cm/¾in chunks
• 200g/7oz small onions
• halved top to bottom
• 2 garlic cloves
• finely chopped
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 2 sprigs sage
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 60g/2oz/½ cup pitted black olives
• 60g/2oz flat leaf parsley
• stems removed

Directions

• Slit the steaks to make a pouch
• stuff with a couple of wet oysters and then wrap around two pieces of pancetta or streaky bacon.
• Heat 50g/1¾oz of butter in a heavy frying pan
• over a medium heat and put in the steaks.
• For medium-rare
• cook for roughly 3 minutes on each side
• then remove from the pan.
• Take the pan off the heat
• pour in the reserved oyster water and scrape any bits from the bottom to the surface.
• Finally
• pour the resulting liquid over the steaks.
• To make the potatoes pre heat the oven to 190C/375F/ Gas 5.
• Warm the olive oil in a heavy casserole dish over a medium heat.
• Add the potatoes
• tomatoes
• onions
• garlic cloves
• thyme and sage and bring to the boil.
• Season well and simmer for 8-10 minutes
• then cover and cook in the oven for half an hour
• or until the potatoes are cooked through (do not stir as this will break up the vegetables).
• Allow to cool slightly
• then add the olives and parsley. Finally
• serve with the carpet bag steaks.