Page 136 - COMING UNSTUCK by Sara tuck

perfect If you’re going to go to

the expense of serving
beef fillet a piece of beautiful eye
fillet (filet mignon) you
may as well make sure you
cook it to perfection!
with herb butter

Serves 4- 6 Remove the meat from the fridge half an hour before cooking
to come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 200˚C
900g (2 lb) eye fillet (400˚F) and put a roasting dish in to heat up. Rub the fillet with
(filet mignon) oil and season well with salt and pepper. Bring a frying pan
2 tbsp olive oil to a medium-high heat and sear the fillet for a minute (or
sea salt & freshly ground pepper a little more to achieve a good dark colour) on all sides,
including the ends. Transfer the fillet to the hot roasting dish
Herb butter: and cook a further 27 minutes. Remove from the oven and
(4 oz) butter, softened rest, covered in tinfoil and a folded up tea towel, for at least
2 tsp capers, drained 10 minutes. (This is quite an even piece of meat but if your fillet
1⅓ cups soft herb leaves is super skinny, reduce the cooking time by 2-3 minutes; if it is
(I use parsley, thyme & basil) really fat, add 2-3 minutes!)
1 clove garlic
2 tsp Dijon mustard While the meat is resting (don’t go slicing it too early or you
2 anchovies, drained (optional) will lose all of those lovely juices!), put the butter, capers, herbs,
sea salt & freshly ground pepper garlic, mustard and anchovies (if using) into a small food
processor. Season well with sea salt and black pepper then
whizz until smooth. Herb butter can be prepared up to 4 days
before and stored in the fridge.

Slice the fillet and serve with the grunty herb butter. This lean
and tender piece of beef is perfect served with Paris mash (see
p168) and a simple green salad.

132