Carpetbag steak with burnt butter and bacon dressing

Throw as many foams and sprinkles at me as you like, fads and trends in food are fun while they last but there is nothing better than an old classic.

It would be nice if there were some real classics from the early part of last century and no doubt bread and butter pudding or just about anything wrapped in pastry is "olden days", but our favoured classics seem to stem from the mid-century kitchen.

Aspic hasn't made resurgence (yet) but pineapple hedgehogs, cheese cubes and ice-cream bombes are all present on 2014 dinner tables. In the last few years one of my favourite exotic meals has also started showing up on menus around the country: carpetbag steak.

A "carpetbagger" is a term used to describe a opportunistic fraudster, coined after the American Civil War when these peddlers would wander about with enormous luggage items. There is nothing fraudulent about this steak, although correctly it does bear some resemblance to a huge tapestry sack filled with ocean treasure.

Through the cooking process, the oyster flavour permeates through the steak. It's the ultimate retro reef 'n' beef.

Carpetbag steak with burnt butter and bacon dressing

Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 2, easily doubled

• 2 thick fillet steaks
• 6 oysters
• 100g butter
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 2 rashers streaky bacon
• 1 small clove crushed garlic

In your steaks, make a pocket with a small sharp knife and gently stuff 2-3 oysters (depending on the size) inside. Fasten with toothpicks or tie the steak off with cooking string.

In a searing hot pan, cook steaks for about 3 minutes per side, then place in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes. While the steak is in the oven, fry bacon and garlic in butter until crispy. The butter should be a dark golden colour.

Remove steaks from oven and rest for 5 minutes to relax the meat. When ready to serve, add parsley to dressing and spoon over steak. Serve with crunchy fries or creamy parsnip mash.