“A little effort required, but this topping creates even more flavour for an already delicious steak. Use whatever cut you like, but consider organic and grass-fed.”

Cooking time: 6 to 7 hours for the trotter; prep time: 15 minutes

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

1 pig’s trotter, hairs removed on a flame or with a blow-torch, washed in cold water

1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 carrot, roughly chopped

1 stick celery, roughly chopped

1/4 leek, washed and roughly chopped

1 bay leaf

A few peppercorns

1 large steak, I like a rib eye about 250 to 300g, at room temperaturE

A small handful of breadcrumbs

A few sprigs of thyme and parsley

2 to 3 fronds of tarragon

1 shallot, diced

300g mushrooms, diced

A splash of Madeira

50ml good jus or leftover gravy

Good salt and pepper

2 tablespoons cold-pressed rapeseed oil

METHOD

Begin by cooking the trotter in advance. In a good-sized pot, heat a tablespoon of oil and add the onion, carrot, celery, leek, bay leaf, a sprig of thyme and the peppercorns. Colour the vegetables until they are browned then add the trotter and cover with water. Bring to the boil and cook for 6 to 7 hours on a low simmer with a lid on, topping up the water occasionally, don’t let the water boil dry. You can also cook it in the oven at 150°C for the same period of time.

Once cooked, pick through the pig’s trotter, removing all the bones and any hard cartilage. This is quite fiddly as it’s very sticky. Using a teaspoon and wearing rubber gloves helps. Dice the flesh roughly into 1-cm cubes. Next, add a teaspoon of oil to a small pot and bring to a moderate heat. Add two thirds of the shallot and the mushrooms and fry until golden. This will take about 2 minutes. Add the diced trotter and stir. Add the Madeira and continue cooking until it’s reduce by half. Then add the jus, or gravy, and season. Add the chopped tarragon and leave to cook for 10 minutes or so.

To make the breadcrumb topping, heat a teaspoon of oil in a small pot and add the remaining shallot, thyme and parsley. Season with salt and pepper, then add the breadcrumbs and stir. Set to one side for now.

To cook the steak, season on both sides with salt and pepper and cook on a very hot griddle pan for 2 to 3 minutes each side, depending on your preference. Remove from the pan and place it on a clean metal tray. Spread over the pig’s trotter mixture then sprinkle over the breadcrumb topping with a little extra salt. Brown the steak with the topping under the hot grill for 30 seconds and serve at once with broccoli or whatever you fancy. Perhaps some chips or Dauphinoise potatoes.