How to make the ultimate steak sandwich

Whether you enjoy it in front of the television or as a picnic treat after a walk within your 5k, there are few sandwiches that can top Darina Allen's steak sandwich

You can't beat a steak sandwich.

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 500g rump steak, thinly sliced 
• 2 large crusty rolls 
• 2 tbsp olive oil 
• Cos lettuce 
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 
• For the marinade:
• 1 onion, thinly sliced 
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced 
• 1 small red chilli, finely sliced 
• 1 bay leaf, broken up 
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley 
• 2 tbsp red wine 
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Method

Mix all the ingredients for the marinade together in a wide bowl. Add the slices of steak and leave to marinate for 2 hours or so — not much longer or the wine will draw too much liquid from the meat. Remove the steaks from the marinade, let them sit on pieces of kitchen paper for a few minutes to absorb the excess moisture, then drain the liquid and keep to one side.

Warm the rolls in a low oven. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan until it is very hot, almost on the point of smoking, then put the steaks in the pan. Fry them quickly on each side until sealed — it should take less than a minute per side — then transfer them to a warm plate. Add the onion, garlic and chilli from the marinade to the pan with a pinch of sea salt and fry for 1 minute, until soft and lightly browned. Pour in the marinade and let it bubble until reduced by half.

Slice the rolls in half and lay a couple of cos lettuce leaves on the bottom of each one. Place the steaks on top, season lightly with sea salt and black pepper and pour over the marinade. Pop on top of the roll and squish it down hard. Eat immediately, with plenty of napkins on one side to help mop up the juices.