The steak sandwich is a bit of a British pub classic that, when it’s done well, sits up there with some of the best things you can eat. The version I make pulls ideas from a few corners of the world: Spanish romesco for the sauce, besan flour for the onion rings which I borrowed from Indian and Burmese cooking, a good piece of focaccia, and a well cooked piece of sirloin. The result is a sandwich built around texture as much as flavour, with a crisp crust from the bread, crunch from the battered onion rings, chew from a well rested steak, and a bright, nutty sauce that ties the whole thing together.

The thing I care most about with a sandwich like this is texture. A sandwich isn’t just a flavour exercise, it’s a structural one. Every element needs to be doing something different so that each bite gives you a bit of chew, a bit of crunch, a bit of lift and a bit of sauce. If you’ve only got one texture, it gets boring quickly.

Technique

The biggest technique point in this recipe is resting the steak properly. Rest it until it’s at ambient room temperature before you slice. A hot steak bleeds juice straight into the bread and turns the focaccia soggy in a couple of minutes. The other key move is slicing across the grain. Find the direction of the muscle fibres and cut perpendicular to them. Long fibres mean you pull a string of meat out when you bite, and the sandwich falls apart. Short fibres bite through cleanly.

Flavour

The flavour profile leans sweet and savoury rather than spicy. The romesco carries the sandwich. Roasted red capsicums go sweet and jammy in a hot oven, raw garlic adds a sharp allium kick (two cloves, or one if you’re sensitive), toasted almonds bring nutty depth, and red wine vinegar cuts through with acid. The steak is seasoned simply with salt and pepper so the beef does the talking. Besan flour gives the onion rings a nuttier edge than plain flour would, which pairs neatly with the almonds in the sauce. Rocket keeps it all balanced with a peppery freshness.

Ingredient Notes

Steak cut: I use sirloin or New York strip. Both have a good fat-to-lean ratio and a decent fat cap along the top, which is what you want when the steak is doing the bulk of the flavour work. Rib-eye works too if that’s what’s in the fridge, though it can push the sandwich into greasy territory once the romesco and onion rings are on. Carve across the grain in thin strips after resting.

Focaccia: Make yourself a some focaccia the day before or pick some up from a local bakery if they have it.

Besan flour: Besan is chickpea flour. I started using it in London years ago and it’s now my default batter flour for anything deep fried. It fries up crisper and has a nuttier flavour than plain flour. Find it in the international aisle of most supermarkets. If you can’t find it, a 50/50 mix of plain flour and cornflour will get you close on texture, though not on flavour.

Red capsicum: Romesco lives or dies on the quality of the peppers. I use two red capsicums, roasted whole in a hot oven until the skins are blistered and charred, then steamed in a covered bowl so the skins slip off easily. The peppers need to be properly red and ripe for the sauce to have that sweet, deep colour. In a pinch, a good jar of roasted red peppers from the deli aisle will also do the job.

Equipment

• Chopping board

• Chef’s knife

• Tongs

• Baking tray

• Mixing bowls

• Whisk

• Blender or food processor

• Deep, heavy-based saucepan or pot (for frying)

• Digital thermometer

• Heavy-based frying pan or cast iron skillet (for the steak)

• Slotted spoon

• Paper towels

• Serrated knife (for the focaccia)