Au Poivre Goes Light

Grind your peppercorns. If you don’t have a grinder, I found the easiest way to crush them was to place them inside a plastic baggie and run a rolling pin across them several times.

If you’re making filets, place the peppercorns in a dish and press both sides of the filets into them to coat. Pour the olive oil into a cast iron pan and heat until smoking. Salt the filets and add to the pan, lowering the heat to medium. Cook until they’re done to your liking. Remove the filets from the pan and cover them with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Add the shallot and garlic to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes on medium. If you’re just making the sauce, add the olive oil into the pan at this point and begin cooking the shallot and garlic. Add the veal stock and cook on high until the sauce is reduced in half. Swirl in the mustard and the half-and-half. Return the filets to the pan to heat through and serve.