Fillet steak with chicory tart and chillied kale
Above: Fillet steak with chicory tart and chillied kale
Fillet steak with chicory tart and chillied kale
Serves 2
Mutton is experiencing a well-deserved comeback, try this dish and you’ll soon see why. Mutton is to lamb what beef is to veal, so make the most of its rich flavour by cooking it long and slow.
To make the meal vegetarian, replace the steak with some roasted sweet potato.
Ingredients
• 1 piece beef fillet, cut from thick end, approx 10cm long
• 1 large or 2 small heads chicory
• 25g butter
• 2tsp fresh thyme leaves, plus extra sprigs to decorate
• 1tsp balsamic vinegar
• ½ pkt puff pastry
• 2 thin slices from goats cheese log
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• pinch chilli flakes
• 2 big handfuls kale or savoy cabbage, stalks
removed and leaves sliced
• 6tbsp red wine
• 1tsp redcurrant jelly
Method
• Wrap the beef fillet in clingfilm so it forms a tight cylinder with the ends free, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Remove from the fridge and with a very sharp knife, carefully cut into two steaks through the clingfilm. The film will stay on for the first part of the cooking and ensure the steaks hold
their shape.
• Preheat oven to 180C / Gas 4. Remove the outer leaves of the chicory and trim away the bottom part of the stalk, then cut each head lengthways into eight wedges.• Heat the butter until foaming in a large sauté pan, then add the chicory and turn to coat. Season lightly with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the thyme leaves. Leave to cook for four minutes until golden brown, then turn the slices and sprinkle over the vinegar. Leave to cook for another two minutes.
• Roll out the puff pastry and cut into two discs the same diameter as the steaks, then transfer to a baking sheet. Arrange the chicory on top of the pastry circles and reserve the cooking pan, then top each one with a slice of goats cheese.
• Bake for 15 minutes until the pastry is puffy and golden and the heat has glazed the goats cheese.
• As soon as the tarts have gone in the oven, put an oven-proof frying pan over a high heat with one tablespoon of oil. Season the steaks with salt and white pepper and when the pan starts to smoke, add the knob of butter.
• Position the steaks carefully in the pan – you don’t want to disturb them until they’ve seared. Cook for one minute on the first side, then turn over. Let them cook for another minute, then take off the clingfilm and sear all around the outside.
• Transfer the pan to the oven on the shelf below the tarts. After six minutes, remove the pan and put the steaks on to a warmed plate. Cover with foil and reserve the pan.• While the steaks are in the oven, heat one tablespoon of oil in the pan you cooked the chicory in. When it starts to sizzle, add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook, stirring for one minute.
• Add the kale and continue to stir-fry until glistening and starting to wilt. Season with salt and pepper, then add three tablespoons of the wine. Give it a final stir, then cover with a lid and leave to steam for five minutes.
• Put the steak pan back on the heat and pour in any juices from the meat plate along with any liquid from the kale. Add the rest of the wine and the redcurrant jelly and reduce until syrupy. There should be just enough intense sauce for the two of you.
• To serve, divide the kale into two and pile in the centre of two large white plates. Sit the fillet steaks on top, then top each with a chicory tart. Drizzle the sauce around the outside and decorate with the thyme sprigs.
Rose-scented crème brûlée
Serves 2
Mutton is experiencing a well-deserved comeback, try this dish and you’ll soon see why. Mutton is to lamb what beef is to veal, so make the most of its rich flavour by cooking it long and slow.
To make the meal vegetarian, replace the steak with some roasted sweet potato.
Ingredients
• 1 piece beef fillet, cut from thick end, approx 10cm long
• 1 large or 2 small heads chicory
• 25g butter
• 2tsp fresh thyme leaves, plus extra sprigs to decorate
• 1tsp balsamic vinegar
• ½ pkt puff pastry
• 2 thin slices from goats cheese log
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• pinch chilli flakes
• 2 big handfuls kale or savoy cabbage, stalks
removed and leaves sliced
• 6tbsp red wine
• 1tsp redcurrant jelly
Method
• Wrap the beef fillet in clingfilm so it forms a tight cylinder with the ends free, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Remove from the fridge and with a very sharp knife, carefully cut into two steaks through the clingfilm. The film will stay on for the first part of the cooking and ensure the steaks hold
their shape.
• Preheat oven to 180C / Gas 4. Remove the outer leaves of the chicory and trim away the bottom part of the stalk, then cut each head lengthways into eight wedges.
• Heat the butter until foaming in a large sauté pan, then add the chicory and turn to coat. Season lightly with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the thyme leaves. Leave to cook for four minutes until golden brown, then turn the slices and sprinkle over the vinegar. Leave to cook for another two minutes.
• Roll out the puff pastry and cut into two discs the same diameter as the steaks, then transfer to a baking sheet. Arrange the chicory on top of the pastry circles and reserve the cooking pan, then top each one with a slice of goats cheese.
• Bake for 15 minutes until the pastry is puffy and golden and the heat has glazed the goats cheese.
• As soon as the tarts have gone in the oven, put an oven-proof frying pan over a high heat with one tablespoon of oil. Season the steaks with salt and white pepper and when the pan starts to smoke, add the knob of butter.
• Position the steaks carefully in the pan – you don’t want to disturb them until they’ve seared. Cook for one minute on the first side, then turn over. Let them cook for another minute, then take off the clingfilm and sear all around the outside.
• Transfer the pan to the oven on the shelf below the tarts. After six minutes, remove the pan and put the steaks on to a warmed plate. Cover with foil and reserve the pan.
• While the steaks are in the oven, heat one tablespoon of oil in the pan you cooked the chicory in. When it starts to sizzle, add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook, stirring for one minute. Add the kale and continue to stir-fry until glistening and starting to wilt. Season with salt and pepper, then add three tablespoons of the wine. Give it a final stir, then cover with a lid and leave to steam for five minutes.
Put the steak pan back on the heat and pour in any juices from the meat plate along with any liquid from the kale. Add the rest of the wine and the redcurrant jelly and reduce until syrupy. There should be just enough intense sauce for the two of you.
To serve, divide the kale into two and pile in the centre of two large white plates. Sit the fillet steaks on top, then top each with a chicory tart. Drizzle the sauce around the outside and decorate with the thyme sprigs.
Serves 2
This is quite possibly the perfect Valentine’s Day dessert. Everything apart from caramelising the sugar can be done in advance and the rich egg custard is utterly sublime, without weighing you down too much. You can make the custard just on the hob, but setting it in the oven reduces the risk of the mixture curdling, as does the added cornflower. Make two individual brûlées or one larger one to share...
Ingredients
• 200ml double cream
• 2 large free range or organic egg yolks
• 40g caster sugar, plus extra for topping
• ½ tsp corn flour
• 4tsp rose water or 2 drops of rose extract
Method
• Preheat oven to 140C / Gas 1. Put the cream in a small milk pan and bring slowly to the boil. While the cream is heating, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, corn flour and rose water until very thick and pale.
• Once the cream has boiled, pour it slowly on to the egg mixture, whisking all the time so it doesn’t scramble.
• Pour the custard through a sieve into a jug, then use it to fill two small ramekins or one large heart-shaped one.
• Put the ramekins in a roasting tin and pour in enough boiling water to come about 2cm up the sides.
• Transfer the tin to the oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, checking regularly to make sure they haven’t coloured, and take them out once they are softly set, with a little quiver remaining in the centre. Leave to cool.
• This can all be done that morning or even the night before; they can then left in the fridge to chill.
• When you’re ready to serve, sprinkle about one teaspoon of caster sugar over the surface of each custard, shaking to get an even coverage. The best way to caramelise it is to use a cook’s blow torch, but the grill, as long as you get it really hot first, is a suitable alternative – just make sure they are as close to the element as possible and it doesn’t re-cook the custard.
• Serve decorated with rose buds or petals.