Roast Fillet of Beef with Shallots, Mushrooms and Red Wine Gravy
Without a doubt, pure-bred, grass-fed, Scottish beef is the best there is. In Scotland, these hardy wee beasts spend most of the time outdoors feeding on grass, which makes some of them not far from being organic. Aberdeen Angus, Highland, Shorthorn or Galloway are my preferred breeds. Properly treated and hung for at least 21 days, this is the tastiest beef you can buy. However, even the meat from a continental cross animal, when properly hung, will be fine for this dish. But do make the effort to get native beef if you can.
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
4 slices of beef fillet, trimmings reserved, weighing 140-175g (5-6 oz) each
12 whole peeled shallots, trimmings and skins reserved
1 thyme sprig
1 bay leaf
5 black peppercorns, crushed
300 ml (½: pint) red wine
400 ml (14 fl oz) Chicken and Beef Stock
85g (3 oz) butter
1 tablespoon icing sugar
Freshly ground sea salt and freshly ground pepper
A squeeze of lemon juice
20 nice mushrooms (preferably chanterelles or morels, but whole brown buttons will do)
Mini Potato Fondants, to serve
To make the gravy, heat a large frying pan, add half the sunflower oil and fry the beef trimmings until browned. Add the shallot trimmings and skins, thyme, bay leaf and crushed peppercorns and cook them on a medium heat until nicely coloured. Pour in the wine and slosh it about a bit (this 'deglazes' the pan) before reducing it until all the liquid has gone. Add the chicken and beef stock and gently simmer until thickened. This will take approximately 30 minutes
Pass everything through a fine sieve and allow the gravy to stand. (It could be made a day in advance and left to stand overnight in the fridge.) Skim any fat off the top.
Now poach the shallots in boiling, salted water until tender (approximate 10 minutes) and drain them. Fry them in a third of the butter with the odd dusting of icing sugar (to help caramelization) and continue cooking over a low-to-medium heat until the shallots are golden brown and tender (there is nothing worse than an undercooked shallot); this will take 15-20 minutes. Keep them warm, or allow them to cool and reheat them in a hot oven when needed. Season and add a squeeze of lemon juice just before serving.
To cook the mushrooms, heat a large frying pan until it's hot and add another third of the butter. Fry the mushrooms for 4-5 minutes, until browned. Season with salt, pepper and the lemon juice. These can also be cooled and reheated.
Now for the beef fillet. Season the steaks well with salt and freshly ground pepper. Heat an ovenproof, heavy-based frying pan until very hot and add the rest of the sunflower oil - the oil should smoke. Quickly add the steaks and the rest of the butter and get some good colour on them: 2 minutes on each side for good and rare. For medium or more well done, place them in a hot oven for further cooking. Approximate cooking times are: medium rare, 2-3 minutes; medium, 4-5 minutes; well done, at least 10 minutes. Allow the meat to relax in a warm place for a minimum of 10 minutes or up to 30 minutes (after which the steaks will need 1½ minutes or so in a hot oven to reheat). Reheat the potatoes, shallots and mushrooms, if necessary. Reheat the gravy.
To serve, place the meat on one side of warmed serving plates and the mini potato fondants on the other. Arrange the shallots and mushrooms around them. Pour the sauce over and around the meat and mushrooms.
© Nick Nairn
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