Karen Wright: Al fresco dining in the sun and how to cook the perfect steak

What a surprise, a mini heatwave!
Juicy steaks served with homemade flatbreads and saladJuicy steaks served with homemade flatbreads and salad
Juicy steaks served with homemade flatbreads and salad

I got the extra bonus of being away in the caravan too. Fabulous!

I love getting away in the caravan and this time I was away for work. I was booked, yet again, to appear at a food festival. This time the Fantastic Food Festival event at Denbies Vineyard in Dorking, Surrey.

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I could hardly believe my eyes. It was just like being in one of my favourite areas of France – Burgundy. Rolling hills, all covered with vines set against a glorious blue sky.

After the festival we moved on again and drove to the Caravan and Motorhome Club site in Brighton.

It was such an exciting drive down with beautiful sunshine and blue sky. We were treated to the spectacle of over a thousand motorcyclists heading to the coast too.

When I’m away in the caravan I still love to cook when the sun is out but it must be al fresco.

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At the festival, one of the chefs showed us how to cook the perfect steak. Inspired by this, I bought a couple of rump steaks and followed his advice.

I removed the packaging and let the meat sit for a while to bring it to room temperature, wrapping it in kitchen paper to absorb excess moisture.

Then I heated a frying pan until it was smoking hot and rubbed the steak in garlic-infused oil.

Once in the pan, I let the steaks cook on one side for a few minutes without moving them around at all, then flipped them to cook for a further few minutes.

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I threw in some cherry tomatoes, diced shallots and mushrooms, added a knob of butter and put the lid on.

Once I removed the steaks from the pan, I let them rest on a plate for five minutes to allow the juices to settle.

Served with homemade flatbreads and salad, they were absolutely scrumptious!

For tips and recipes visit my website - http://www.karenwrightbakes.co.uk