Beef fillet, foie gras, parsley purée and Madeira sauce

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This beef fillet recipe from Chris Horridge has a real touch of luxury about it. The addition of foie gras, parsley purée and sweet Madeira beautifully compliments the succulent beef, which is cooked until nicely caramelised. This is a wonderful recipe to pull out for romantic occasions, or for a hearty main course while having dinner with friends.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Beef

Parsley purée

  • 195g of parsley
  • 70ml of water
  • 30ml of olive oil
  • 1.5g of salt

Madeira sauce

  • 20ml of sherry vinegar
  • 300ml of Madeira
  • 100ml of port
  • 300ml of brown chicken stock
  • 1 sprig of thyme
  • 2 tbsp of Madeira, to finish

To plate

Equipment

  • Food processor or blender
  • Fine sieve

Method

1
For the parsley purée separate the stalks from the leaves. Bring the water to the boil and cook the stalks for 3 minutes
2
Add the leaves and cook for a further 3 minutes. Refresh in ice water. Strain, retaining all the water in a separate saucepan. Press well with a ladle to extract as much water as possible
3
Weigh 80g of parsley, add the oil and salt and blitz for 2 minutes in a blender. Pass through a very fine sieve
  • 30ml of olive oil
  • 1.5g of salt
4
For the Madeira sauce combine the vinegar, port and Madeira, bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half. Add the chicken stock
  • 300ml of Madeira
  • 20ml of sherry vinegar
  • 100ml of port
  • 300ml of brown chicken stock
5
Bring to the boil again and reduce to the consistency of a sauce. Add the thyme and cook for 5 minutes
6
Finish with the Madeira to taste. Pass through a fine sieve. Keep warm
  • 2 tbsp of Madeira, to finish
7
For the beef remove the meat from the fridge 1 hour before cooking it
8
Heat a frying pan and cook the beef fillets on a high heat in 1 tablespoon of oil, colouring them evenly all over. Add a knob of butter and continue to cook until nicely caramelised. This will take about 5 minutes.
  • 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • 10g of butter
9
Season the beef with salt and pepper and remove from the frying pan. Rest on a plate with all the cooking juices
10
To plate, sauté the mushrooms in 50g of butter until just cooked
11
Sweat the spinach in the remaining butter, drain well pressing between cloths to soak up the excess water
12
Pan fry the foie gras in a dry, super hot pan. When coloured on both sides sprinkle over the xeres vinegar. Season with salt and rest on their sides in the cooking pan
13
Place a small mound of the spinach in the centre of each plate, spoon the mushrooms around. Place the beef fillet on top followed by the foie gras. Top with a quenelle of warmed parsley purée. Sprinkle watercress around and spoon over the sauce
First published in 2015

Chris Horridge is a master of balancing unusual flavours to great effect, working at various Michelin-starred restaurants around the country and earning his own star for his kitchen garden-driven food. He is a passionate advocate of nutritious, ‘free from’ food, choosing and pairing ingredients based on their effect on the body as much as flavour.

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