Beef Fillet with a Medley of Onions and Red Wine Glaze
Recipe for juicy beef fillet served with a medley of onions and red wine glaze.
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
Red wine glaze
- 1 bottle good red wine
- 1 l beef stock
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 3 tbsp dark balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 50 g cold butter
- Oil – use enough that the onions don't catch and burn
- Freshly ground pepper and salt, if needed
- A little sugar, if needed
Beef fillet
- 1 beef fillet - approx. 1 kg
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- Oil for browning
- Salt and pepper
Medley of onions
- 6 medium white onions
- 1 jar pearl onions (silverskin onions), drained - 2 if the jars are small
- Pickled red onions - click here
- Pickled mustard seeds - click here
- Cress and fresh soft-stemmed thyme
- Serve with potatoes of your choice, if you like
Instructions
Red wine glaze
- Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onions over a medium heat until lightly browned.
- Add the garlic and rosemary and cook for a couple of minutes more.
- Season generously with freshly ground pepper, add both vinegars and let it bubble away until it thickens.
- Pour in the red wine and let it reduce over a high heat for approx. 10 minutes.
- Pour in the stock and let the sauce reduce over a medium heat to approx. 1/3, – this takes 1/2 hour or more, depending on how high the heat is.
- Pour the sauce through a sieve and heat it through in the pan for approx. 10 minutes before finishing it with the butter.Whisk in the butter, one knob at a time.If you make the sauce ahead, simply chill it, then reheat it and whisk in the butter before serving. Otherwise, just leave the sauce over a low heat until it is time to serve. Before serving, turn up the heat and whisk in the butter.
- Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper - and a little sugar, if needed.
Beef fillet and the onions
- Trim the meat of any sinew and silverskin.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over a high heat and brown the fillet well on all sides together with the herb sprigs and crushed garlic, – season with salt and pepper.
- Meanwhile, halve the white onions (leave the skins on) and place them in an ovenproof dish brushed with a little oil and sprinkled with a little salt and pepper, - lay them cut side down.
- Place the beef fillet in the same ovenproof dish together with the garlic and rosemary, – insert a meat thermometer (into the thickest part) and roast in the middle of a preheated fan oven at 200°C for approx. 20 minutes, depending on thickness.
- When the fillet reaches a core temperature of approx. 55°C, take it out of the oven and let it rest on a chopping board to finish cooking. At this temperature it will be beautifully red inside.If you prefer the fillet more cooked/pink, leave it in the oven until it has a core temperature of approx. 57°C – and then let it rest on the board.
- While the fillet rests, fry the pearl onions in a little oil in a hot frying pan. They should caramelise on the surface, - season with pepper.Remember, too, that it is now almost time to whisk the butter into the sauce.
- Slice the beef fillet and arrange the slices on the plates.
- Slip the baked onions out of their skins and place them next to the meat, then top with the fried pearl onions, pickled red onions and pickled mustard seeds.
- Scatter with fresh cress and delicate sprigs of fresh thyme, and season with freshly ground pepper.