Rib eye of beef with Paris potatoes

Guillaume loves the decadence of cooking an enormous wagyu rib eye steak on the bone that’s in excess of one kilogram, to serve several people. It’s a showstopper of a steak that will spoil you for anything less. He browns it on the grill then transfers it to the oven, and one of his secrets is "the Guillaume massage" of garlic, bay leaves and thyme. This recipe will also work nicely for a standing rib roast with a few ribs attached. Guillaume includes his recipe for Paris potatoes.

• serves

  6

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 1 large wagyu rib eye steak on the bone weighing around 1.2 kg (or a standing rib roast of the same weight), brought to room temperature 
• olive oil 
• sea salt 
• ½ head of garlic, sliced in half through the cloves 
• 1 bunch thyme 
• 1 branch of bay leaves, leaves picked 

Paris potatoes

• 9 desiree potatoes 
• 60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil 
• 3 small French shallots, trimmed and peeled 
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter 
• 2 thyme sprigs, leaves picked 
• 1 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley 
• sea salt

Resting time 15 minutes

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 220°C. Heat a barbecue or large frying pan to very high heat. Rub the rib eye with oil and season with salt. Rub the cut side of the garlic pieces over the meat, then bunch together the thyme and bay leaves and do the same. Set the garlic and herbs aside and place the rib eye on the hot barbecue or in the pan and brown on both sides (or brown all over if you are cooking a rib roast).

Transfer the rib eye to a tray and massage with the garlic and herbs again. If you are cooking a steak, place the garlic and herbs on top of the meat and roast in the oven for around 20 minutes for medium-rare – the meat should feel slightly springy when you press on it, giving a bit of resistance. If you are cooking a rib roast, put the meat on top of the garlic and herbs and roast for around 40–45 minutes, reducing the temperature to 180°C after the first 15 minutes. Rest your steak or rib roast for 15 minutes before serving.

While the meat is cooking, make the Paris potatoes. Peel the potatoes and use a melon baller (also called a Parisienne scoop) to scoop balls from each potato, dropping the balls into a saucepan of cold water. Bring the saucepan to the boil, then immediately drain the potatoes.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and add the potato balls and shallots. Sauté, shaking the pan occasionally, until golden and cooked through. Drain off the oil (save it for another dish if desired), then stir in the butter. When the butter is bubbling and has coated the potatoes, stir in the thyme, parsley and salt to taste and toss briefly before removing from the heat.

Carve the rested steak or rib roast and serve with the potatoes, along with a salad and a round of maitre d’hôtel butter on top of the meat if desired.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.