I had read about the Shooter’s Sandwich previously in Elizabeth David’s Summer Cooking. ‘The wise’ she says, ‘travel with a flask of whiskey and a Shooter’s Sandwich. With this sandwich a man may travel from Land’s End to Quaker Oats, and snap his fingers at both.’ We didn’t go quite that far, but we did take it on a picnic in the Lake District in December on one of the stormiest days of the year…

This is a serious sandwich! The mushroom mix is so tasty with rich meat and sharp hot horseradish and mustard. Make a day ahead of serving becuase it needs to be pressed overnight for best results.

Shooter's Sandwich

SERVES 6

• 1 large round crusty loaf

• 50g butter

• 500g large field mushrooms or fresh wild mushrooms if you have access, cleaned and finely chopped

• 200g shallots, peeled and finely chopped

• salt and pepper

• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated

• 1 tbsp brandy

• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

• 2 rib-eye steaks, about 200g and 2cm thick

• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

• 1 tbsp horseradish cream

EQUIPMENT

• string

Alternatives

Roasted vegetables

Slice a ‘lid’ off the top of the loaf and hollow out the centre. You can keep the middle and freeze it to use for breadcrumbs at some point. Melt the butter in a frying pan and then sweat the mushrooms and shallots over a medium heat until they are tasty and soft and have lost most of their moisture. Season with salt and pepper, then add the grated garlic, brandy and Worcestershire sauce.

Season the steaks generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat a frying pan until very hot, add the steaks and cook for 11/2 minutes on each side for rare, or a touch more if you want them to be medium rare.

Quickly assemble the sandwich, no resting required. Spread the base of the loaf with the Dijon mustard, then put the first steak into the bottom of the loaf and add the mushroom and shallot mix, packing it into all the nooks and crannies. Place the next steak on top. Spread the top of this steak with horseradish and spread the inside of the loaf lid with a touch more. Pop the lid back on and wrap the whole loaf tightly in greaseproof paper. Secure with four lengths of string, as if you were tying up a parcel. Finally, place the loaf between two boards and place some heavy pans or weights on top. Leave to press overnight.

Cut the loaf into 6 wedges, still in its paper, and serve with some piccalilli or a good mustard; it’s delicious!