Beef and Béarnaise sauce were made for each other and work perfectly in this bite-sized version.
To drink: Flagstone Fiona Pinot Noir is soft with great earthy aromas, but will happily stand its ground with the beef.
Seared beef with Béarnaise sauce
Ingredients
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 60ml (¼ cup) white vinegar
- 80ml (¹/³ cup) dry white wine
- 5 peppercorns, crushed
- 10ml (2 tsp) fresh tarragon
- 2 large egg yolks
- 80g butter, cubed
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1kg prime fillet of beef, cubed
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
For the béarnaise sauce, place the shallot, vinegar, wine, peppercorns and tarragon in a small pot and bring to the boil.
Lower the heat and reduce until only about 15ml (1 tbsp) of the liquid remains. Strain.
Fill a bigger pot with water and bring to a slow simmer. Place the small pot with the strained liquid over the bigger pot. Add the egg yolks to the small pot and over a gentle heat whisk the eggs until thick and creamy. Add the butter piece by piece, whisking continuously to incorporate it. Season to taste.
Heat a frying pan over a high heat and sear the fillet, tossing it in the frying pan until brown but still rare, about 10 minutes. Season.
Insert a cocktail stick into the meat and serve with the béarnaise sauce.
Notes
Cook's tip: Instead of béarnaise sauce, this is also delicious with avocado cream: mash 1 avocado and mix it into 180ml fresh cream.