- 4
Ingredients
- 1 beef tenderloin, 2 to 3 pounds.
- Peanut oil
- 1 T minced shallots
- 3 T Madeira wine or Ruby port
- 1/2 cup demiglace
- 2 ounces Roquefort (creamy)cheese
- 4-5 T unsalted butter
- 3 T creme fraiche or heavy cream, whipped
- 2 T lightly toasted pine nuts
- 2 T lightly toasted walnut pieces
- 2 T lightly toasted sliced blanched almonds
- 1 T chopped parsley
Preparation
Step 1
To prepare meat: Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper. Rub with peanut oil. Refrigerate meat, covered with waxed paper, until 1 hour before cooking. Pat dry with paper towels. In large, heavy-bottomed skillet, heat 2 tsp oil and 1 T unsalted butter. Over,very high heat, sear meat on both sides (about 4 minutes total). Transfer meat to wire rack. Place waxed paper under it to catch juices. Let meat rest minimum of 20 minutes.
To prepare sauce: Discard cooking fat from Skillet. Add shallots and wine to skillet. Over low to medium heat, reduce to glaze. Add demiglace and bring to boil. Reduce to syrup. (Can be done 2 or 3 hours ahead and scraped into smaller skillet).
To make cheese-butter paste: In a food processor, combine Roquefort and 4 T butter. Process to smooth paste. If too salty, add another T butter, Separate mixture into 4 to 6 chunks. Refrigerate.
To roast beef: About 30 minutes before serving, place beef fillet in small roasting pan. Roasting 450-degree oven for 17 minutes for blue, 18 minutes for rare, 19 minutes for medium-rare. "Never more than 25 minutes, and it's perfect.
To assemble: Meanwhile, gently reheat syrupy sauce. Swirl in cheese butter pieces one by one. Remove from heat and fold in creme fraiche. Spoon sauce onto heated serving platter. Slice meat and arrange over sauce. Surround with combined nuts and parsley.