Low Fat & Muscle Building Steak and Chips

Fancy some steak and chips but want to avoid the high calorific and fat content? Then you need to check out this recipe. Not only have we reduced the calories and fat content but we have also ensured that you get lots of protein to aid your fitness goals.

Ingredients
2 tbsp each black and green peppercorns
2 tbsp coriander seeds
6 fillet mignons or sirloin steaks (1 inch thick, 200g each)
Sea salt
2 tbsp olive oil
250g coarsely chopped shallots
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
2tbsp canned green peppercorns in brine, drained
250ml beef stock (broth)
3 tbsp non-fat sour cream (optional)

For the trimmings
2 large baking potatoes, washed but not peeled
2 sweet potatoes, peeled
Vegetable oil
2 large egg whites
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tsp each salt and pepper

The benefits
Baking the chips instead of frying them drastically cuts the fat content. Adding sweet potato provides more fibre, and therefore better digestion, as well as more vitamin C and A than standard potatoes.

Entrecotes or strip loins are usually used for this dish, but we used sirloin which is a less fatty cut.

Traditionally made with double cream or butter, we swapped that for non-fat sour cream, reducing the fat content.

Directions
Before you even start chopping up the ingredients, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 5. Then slice all the potatoes lengthwise into chips about as thick as your little finger. Cut them in half again to make matchstick-style ones. Coat a baking sheet with vegetable oil (spray is ideal as you'll use less of it). Chuck the egg whites and chilli powder in a bowl. Sprinkle in a bit of salt and pepper to add flavour, then whisk until the mixture is lightly frothed. Add the matchstick chips and coat them well before placing them on the baking sheet.

Put the chips on the bottom shelf of the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes – but take a peek every 6-8 minutes to turn them over and ensure they turn golden brown all round.

While the chips are cooking, grind the peppercorns and the coriander together in a pestle and mortar or food processor. Then use a paper towel to pat the moisture off the steaks. When they're dry, sprinkle both sides with salt and rub the ground peppercorn mixture evenly on both sides of the steaks. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet (see right-hand panel). Once the oil is heated to spitting point, drop the steaks in the pan and lower the heat from high to medium. Cook the slabs of meat for 4 minutes on one side – then turn over and sear for 3 minutes for medium rare. Remove the steaks from the heat, place on a plate and cover tightly with foil.

Pour away all but 1tbsp of fat from the skillet. Throw in the chopped shallots and sliced garlic and cook over medium to high heat for 2 minutes, until golden brown. Pour in the drained green peppercorns, port, brandy and white wine and stir well – scraping all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the stock, mix well and bring the liquid to a boil. Let it bubble away. You want about half the original amount of the liquid to evaporate, which should take about 6-7 minutes. When you're happy with it remove from the heat and whisk in the sour cream - then pour sauce over your steak.

Servings: 6

Nutritional information per serving;
Calories: 342 Kcal
Protein: 38g
Carbs: 20g
Fat: 4.8g