Steak with Green Peppercorn yoghurt & Roast Potatoes

Ingredients

• 900 g Maris Piper potatoes, cut into wedges
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 rosemary sprigs, leaves picked and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• 2 large sirloin steaks, about 300g each
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 220 g Greek yoghurt
• 2 tbsp green peppercorns in brine, drained and roughly crushed
• 15 g chives, finely chopped
• 60 g rocket
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• salt and black pepper to taste

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220°C fan. Pat the potato wedges properly dry. Toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the smoked paprika, rosemary, and a generous pinch of salt and black pepper. Spread them out on a tray in a single layer; crowded wedges steam instead of roast. Roast in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes until bronzed and crisp with fluffy middles.
2. Mix the grated garlic with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and spoon it over the potatoes for the final 5 minutes only. Watch it.
3. Season the steaks generously with salt, pepper and the lemon zest, then leave them at room temperature while the potatoes finish. A cold steak straight from the fridge fights the pan; a tempered steak gives you proper colour. Pat the surface dry just before they hit the heat.
4. Stir the Greek yoghurt with the crushed green peppercorns, a good squeeze of lemon juice and most of the chives. Taste it; it should land cool and tangy first, then gently peppery at the back.
5. Get a heavy stainless or cast-iron pan ripping hot; you want a faint shimmer and a wisp of smoke. Lay the steaks away from you and don't crowd the pan; two steaks, single layer, no shuffling. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Look for a dark mahogany crust and a little spring when you press the centre; pull at that point, the temperature carries up off the heat.
6. Rest the steaks for 5 minutes on a warm plate. This is important; slice early and the juices run onto the board instead of staying in the meat. Taste the yoghurt one more time and adjust if it needs another pinch of salt or another squeeze of lemon.
7. Scatter the rocket and spring onions across a serving platter and tumble the roast potatoes over the top so they wilt the leaves slightly. Slice the rested steaks across the grain; against the grain is the difference between tender and chewy; and lay them over the potatoes.