Filet Mignon with Duck Liver Pâté and Red Wine Sauce
Photography by Aaron McLean.
You can make this recipe as luxurious as you like – buy a small tin of foie gras from a specialty food store or simply use good chicken liver pâté if duck isn’t available.
Serves: 6
INGREDIENTS
6 x 200 gram centre cut pieces of eye fillet
6 rashers streaky bacon
olive oil
6 toothpicks
100 grams duck liver paté
watercress for garnish
Red wine sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 sprigs thyme
1 small bay leaf
¼ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or good quality red wine vinegar
1½ cups red wine
1½ cups good beef stock
small knob of butter
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Potato rosti
500 grams medium sized Agria potatoes, peeled
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
For a truly perfect match, pair this decadent meal alongside a Dish favourite – the award-winning Dashwood Wines Pinot Noir.
METHOD
Sauce: Put the olive oil, shallot, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns and a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan, cover and cook gently for 10 minutes. Increase the heat, add the vinegar and let it bubble up. Add the wine and stock and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 45-50 minutes or until reduced to ½ a cup, stirring occasionally, especially towards the end of cooking. Strain through a fine sieve. Cool and refrigerate if not using immediately.
Filet: Preheat the oven to 250˚C or to its highest heat. Season the meat generously and wrap each fillet with a rasher of bacon, securing with a toothpick. Heat a heavy-based sauté pan with a little olive oil and sear the meat on all sides, including the bacon. This shouldn’t take you more than 2 minutes in total. Transfer to a flat baking tray and roast for 8 minutes for medium rare meat. Remove from the oven, cover loosely and rest for 5 minutes.
Potato rosti: Preheat the oven to 200˚C.
Trim the ends of the potatoes and slice them from the trimmed end into ½ cm thick slices. A mandolin is good for this job. Place them in a large bowl with the olive oil and rosemary and season generously. Toss well so each slice is coated in the oil. Line a baking tray with paper and make 6 x 12 cm circles of overlapping slices of potato. Roast for 25-30 minutes until golden and tender, turning the tray for even browning. Set aside to cool if not using immediately. Makes 6 rosti
To serve: Reheat the sauce and whisk in the butter. Season. Place the potato rosti on warm plates and top each one with a fillet. Put a spoonful of pâté on top and drizzle with red wine sauce. Garnish with watercress and serve with cooked asparagus or a vegetable of your choice. Pass the remaining red wine sauce separately.
Forward planning
Make the sauce a couple of weeks in advance and freeze. Add the butter when reheating to serve.
Sear the fillets in the morning, cool quickly, cover and refrigerate. Remove from the fridge 1 hour before the final roasting.
Make the rosti 1 day ahead
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