Beef Fillet with Creamy Potato Gratin and Broccolini

A recipe for rich, creamy potato gratin, pink beef fillet and steamed broccolini.

Serve with a red wine glaze, if you like.

Course Main course

Cuisine Danish

Nøgleord Beef fillet, Creamy potato gratin, New Year's Eve menu

Total Time 1 30

Servings people

Calories 1275kcal

20 g butter
2 shallots, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
15 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
1/2 l whipping cream (38% fat)
1 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg – or 1 tsp ground
1 kg potatoes
150 g Vesterhavsost (Danish aged hard cheese), grated or a mature Gouda or Comté
Salt and pepper
A little mozzarella for the top (optional)

Melt the butter in a small saucepan and gently fry the shallots, garlic and sage for a couple of minutes.
Add the cream and grated nutmeg and let the cream simmer very gently for about 5 minutes – it should not boil, only simmer.
Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Peel the potatoes and cut them into slices 2-3 mm thick.
Grease an ovenproof dish with a little butter or oil. The dish should measure approx. 31x18 cm.
Now layer the ingredients in 3-4 layers, seasoning with a little salt and freshly ground pepper between each layer if you like.
Start with potatoes, pour over a little of the cream mixture and sprinkle with a little Vesterhavsost.
Continue until all the potatoes are used, then pour the last of the cream mixture over the top and sprinkle with the rest of the Vesterhavsost and, if using, a little mozzarella – fresh or grated.
Press down lightly on the top with your fingers so the potatoes are gently compacted.
Bake in the middle of a preheated conventional oven (top and bottom heat) at 175°C for approx. 60-75 minutes. Once the potatoes have been in the oven for about 30 minutes, start on the beef fillet.
Let the gratin rest and set for approx. 15 minutes before cutting it. Before taking it out of the oven, pierce it with a skewer to make sure the potatoes are tender.

Trim the fillet of any sinew and silverskin, and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Melt the butter in a frying pan together with the olive oil and add the stalks of fresh herbs and the garlic. Let the butter foam up well.
Sear the fillet well on all sides so it develops a good brown crust.
Transfer the fillet to an ovenproof dish and pour over the fat and the herbs.
Insert a meat thermometer into the fillet. Do it at the thickest part and insert it from the side, so you avoid piercing a hole down through half the meat.
Put the fillet in the oven next to the potatoes and cook until it reaches a core temperature of approx. 53°C.
If you are using 2 oven shelves, I recommend placing the potatoes on the upper shelf. In that case, switch the oven to fan and approx. 165°C.
Let the fillet rest on a chopping board for approx. 15 minutes.
At this temperature the fillet will be beautifully pink and really juicy.
If you prefer it more well done, cook the fillet to a core temperature of approx. 56°C and let it rest for approx. 15 minutes.
While the potatoes and the fillet rest, steam the broccolini in a pan in a little lightly salted water.
It should be crisp with plenty of bite, so give it no more than 2-3 minutes.
Slice the fillet and serve with the potato gratin, steamed broccolini and, if you like, red wine glaze.