Steak tartare with chips

Over Christmas I started to compile a list of dishes I should have made by now but haven't. On the list was steak tartare. Earlier in the week I was lucky enough to be the recipient of someone's re-gifting - Nicola of The Shed Likes Food was given two copies of the book "Cured: salted * spiced * dried * smoked * potted * pickled * raw" by Lindy Wildsmith and Nicola gave her extra copy to me with the wishes "may my surplus present bring you culinary joy". And so it was to be that I first found culinary joy with steak tartare in the "Raw" chapter of the book.
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I decided that I could only tick "steak tartare" off my list in good faith if I had finely chopped the beef myself, instead of getting the butcher to mince it. I found a lovely rump steak from Northfields Farm at Broadway Market, sharpened my knife and went to work. I should just note at this stage, that if you're similarly inclined, don't prepare this for more than 2 people unless you're willing to devote hours to chopping meat.
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Clearly, if you're going to prepare your own beef, it seems wrong to then just crack open a jar of bought mayonnaise. What would people say? So, it being a lazy Saturday afternoon, I made my own mayonnaise. My tip is to have plans for roasting a chicken and making sandwiches the next day, because it's hard to justify making a pot of your own mayo when you only use a few tablespoons for the steak tartare.
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The dinner was looking far too healthy and carb-free at this point, so I was forced to make crispy, hot chips to compensate.
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The result was a gorgeous dinner, which felt deceptively indulgent. The prep can be time consuming, or it can not be - it's up to you.
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Enjoy!
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Steak tartare
("Cured" by Lindy Wildsmith)
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I made the recipe to serve 2.
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200g-300g minced or very finely chopped sirloin or fillet of beef (I used about 300g of delicious rump steak which was a bit too much for Y & I, but if you're feeding a bloke, go ahead. It goes without saying that you should buy the best local beef you can afford)

1/2 brown onion, finely chopped
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2-3 teaspoons of olive oil
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1/4-1/2 teaspoon of Tabasco sauce
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1/2 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
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2 tablespoons of finely chopped flat leaf parsley
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to go with:
2 free range egg yolks
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cocktail gherkins/pickled cucumbers, chopped
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1 tablespoon salted capers, rinsed & chopped
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2-3 tablespoons of mayonnaise (I made my own but you can buy a good quality one instead. Here are some recipes - I made mine with olive oil.)
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method:
Using your hands, mix the meat, onion, olive oil, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce and parsley well and season with salt & pepper.

To serve create a ball/patty from half the meat and place on a serving plate. Make a slight indentation in the top of each patty and place the egg yolk in it.

Hot Chips
I used 3 large potatoes (Kind Edward or Maris Piper) for 2 people as there is quite a lot of wastage if you want nice square cut chips.
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Slice the potato into wedges, place in a saucepan, cover with cold water and add salt.
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Bring the water to the boil and cook the potato until the chips become fluffy and some start to fall apart a little.

Drain the chips and allow them to dry a little.
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Heat vegetable/sunflower/canola oil in a large frying pan. You'll probably need a litre bottle of oil. There are recipes that give you the correct temperature for the oil, but I just dip the end of a chip in the oil and see if it starts sizzling. If not, wait a bit longer for the oil to get hotter and test it again.

I cooked my chips in two batches. Using a slotted spoon you can tell when they're done because they look golden and delicious and, well, good enough to eat!

Drain on paper towel and salt.

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I served my chips in cones made from magazine pages. My life wouldn't be worth living if I didn't acknolwedge that I got this idea from my best friend in New York - we stayed with Mel & her husband at Christmas and at Christmas lunch Mel prepared crispy curly kale with sea salt & lemon zest, served in brown paper cones.

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P.S. Save your egg whites from the tartare & the mayo, as I've got a recipe for little friand cakes coming up!