Pan Seared Fillet of Beef, Glazed Shallots and Bacon Lardons, Red Wine and Port Jus
Who says beef has to be boring?
Ingredients
- 4 fillets of beef
- 8 (to 12) shallots (peeled and halved)
- 6 (to 8) rashers of smoked bacon (cut into dice)
- seasoning
- 75 ml oil
- sprigs of rosemary and thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 (or 4) black peppercorns
- potato rosti:
- 3 large potatoes, peeled and grated
- 50 g butter
- seasoning
- red wine and port reduction:
- 50 g dark brown sugar
- 1 small measure of good quality port
- 250 ml red wine
- 1 tsp tomato puree
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 2 shallots-sliced
- 3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
Method
- It is important to marinade the beef fist. Put the thyme, rosemary and bay leaves into a large bowl with the black peppercorns. Pour the oil onto the herbs and mix around thoroughly.
- Place the fillet(s) into the marinade and rotate until meat is fully coated. Heat a pan until it is very hot-there is no need to add any additional oil to it as the marinade is sufficient.
- Seal the beef on both sides for about 3 minutes on each side (or a little more or less dependant on how you like your beef cook.
- Remove the pan and allow to rest for a couple of minutes.
- Potato Rosti:
- Peel and grate the potatoes and put them into a large bowl.
- Add the salt and pepper and mix well. Heat a large deep frying pan and melt a little butter.
- Arrange spoonfuls of the potato mixture onto the pan and cook gently for
- about 2 minutes on that side.
- Carefully flip over and cook for a further 2 minutes on that side.
- When they are cooked they should be crisp and dry.
- Repeat this process for any remaining cakes.
- Glazed Shallots & Smoked Bacon:
- This is a nice side accompaniment or garnish to serve with the beef.
- Add to the pan the halved shallots together with the diced rashers of smoked bacon.
- Cook over quite a high heat for 3-4 minutes until they are crispy and golden brown. If you wish you could add a little garlic to the pan also.
- Red Wine and Port Reduction:
- In a large pan melt the butter and add to the butter the shallots, garlic, and thyme. Glaze quickly until they are beginning to soften slightly.
- Next add in the brown sugar and allow this to melt and bubble up around the sides of the saucepan. This will give a nice sweet flavour to the sauce and will provide a nice accompaniment to the beef.
- Next reduce the heat to quite low and pour in the red wine, tomato puree and port. Allow this mixture to come to a gentle boil and then reduce to a syrup style.
- (If you wish you can make up this sauce in the pan after cooking the beef)
- To Serve: Place the sliced venison on top of the roasted vegetables and drizzle some of the port and kumquat reduction.
