Filet of parthenais beef with pepper sauce, charlotte potatoes and black figs
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1 kgof Parthenais beef filet (Parthenais is a beef breed from the Deux-Sèvres départment of western France) (For the steaks)
- 200 mlclarified butter (For the steaks)
- 20 gbutter (For the steaks)
- Flower of salt (For the steaks)
- black peppercorns or mixture of exotic peppersblack peppercorns or mixture of exotic peppers (For the steaks)
- 200 gbeef trimmings (For the sauce)
- 15 gblack peppercorns (For the sauce)
- 60 gshallots (For the sauce)
- 2 cloves of garlic (For the sauce)
- 10 gbutter (For the sauce)
- 100 mldouble cream (For the sauce)
- 300 mlbeef stock (For the sauce)
- Flower of salt (For the sauce)
- Freshly ground pepper (For the sauce)
- 20 mlolive oil (For the sauce)
- 1 kgpotatoes (rattes)(For the Potato and fig compote)
- 10 mlcooking oil (For the Potato and fig compote)
- 250 gsmoked slab bacon (For the Potato and fig compote)
- 15 fresh spring onions (For the Potato and fig compote)
- 15 partially preserved black figs (For the Potato and fig compote)
- 1 rounded tablespoonof flour (For the Potato and fig compote)
- 1 glassof white wine (For the Potato and fig compote)
- chicken stock (For the Potato and fig compote)
- 1 small bouquet garni (For the Potato and fig compote)
- 1 clove of garlic (For the Potato and fig compote)
- 10 ghydromel (For the Potato and fig compote)
- 1 pinchof cinnamon (For the Potato and fig compote)
- 1 tablespoonof chopped chives (For the Potato and fig compote)
- Sea salt (For the Potato and fig compote)
- Pepper (For the Potato and fig compote)
Instructions
- 1To prepare the steaks Remove the chain. Trim and de-nerve the filet completely. Cut four tournedos weighing from 160 to 180 g each and keep in a cool place. Save the trimmings for the sauce. If this is a bit daunting, you can get your local butcher to do this for you. Make sure you save the trimmings as this is integral for the sauce.
- 2To prepare the sauce Dice the trimmings into regular cubes. Crush the whole black peppercorns and sift through a strainer, keeping only the large pieces that remain in the strainer. Peel and slice the shallots into even spears. Heat a dash of olive oil in a sauté pan and sear the beef trimmings. Season with a few grains of salt flower and brown evenly. Add the crushed unpeeled garlic cloves, the shallot spears, butter and crushed peppercorns. Cook gently until translucent, making sure the pepper does not burn. Moisten with the beef stock and let the sauce infuse gently on the outside of the stovetop, simmer slowly for 30 minutes, regularly skimming off the foam to obtain a smooth, glossy sauce. Leave to relax for 15 minutes away from the heat and strain through a chinois (fine mesh) into a clean recipient, without pressing. Chill immediately. This sauce will serve as the base for the final pepper sauce.
- 3To cook the steaks Salt the steaks with the salt flower, then pat all over with crushed peppercorns. Warm the clarified butter in a sauté pan large enough for the 4 tournedos. When the butter is hot, begin cooking the steaks, searing the first side well without allowing to dry. Next brown all around the circumference and finish by cooking the second side. Three-quarters through the cooking, add the other butter. Finish cooking as you moisten continuously with the frothy butter. Let the cooked tournedos relax, turning them over constantly on a stainless steel grill. Moisten with the cooking jus and set on the stovetop.
- 4To finish the sauce Deglaze the sauté pan and moisten with the sauce prepared earlier, bring to a slow simmer and reduce gently over a low fire. Skim off any foam as it forms on the surface.
- 5To prepare the potato and fig compote Peel and quarter the potatoes, wash and drain. Clean the spring onions. Wash the herbs for the bouquet garni and tie together. Peel and crush the clove of garlic. Wash and chop the chives. Trim off any rind from the bacon and cut into 5 half-centimetre slices. Chop the slices into little evenly sized slivers. Boil water; toss in the slivered bacon and bring to a boil again; drain and cool. In a cooking pot or sauté pan, sauté the slivered bacon in oil, then add the onions and chopped figs. Sprinkle with flour and cook for 2 to 3 minutes without browning, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Moisten with the white wine and chicken stock. Add the quartered potatoes, the bouquet garni and crushed garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. Finish with the hydromel and a pinch of cinnamon. Cover and cook over a low heat for 20 minutes. Check the seasoning when cooked. Remove the bouquet garni.
- 6Presentation Warm up the tournedos in the oven and arrange on individual dishes surrounded with the potato and fig compote. Sprinkle with chopped chives. Filter the pepper sauce into a sauté pan, then add the double cream. Blend together gently without melting the cream. Check the seasoning and pour into a sauce dish, to be poured around or over the tournedos at the table. Serve with a glass of Martell XO Cognac.
This recipe is part of Martell Pure Gourmet, a selection of dishes designed to complement our range of Martell Cognac. Our founder Jean Martell was a character who enjoyed the finer things in life with a passion for tasting rare dishes and delicacies: ‘Our duty should be a pleasure, and our pleasure a duty’. Pure Gourmet is inspired by Martell’s pure method for the creation of its Cognacs. Pure Gourmet is all about ingredient-led cuisine. Three pure ingredients are chosen from renowned territories worldwide and are then prepared and finessed. These ingredient pairings and recipes accompany the Martell cognac range, elevating every facet of it, so that you, our cognac aficionados, can have a new heightened enjoyment of Martell and a unique gastronomic moment at home.
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