Slow-roasted beef fillet with currants and anchovies
The currant and anchovy dressing goes beautifully with the beef, a must try to impress your friends!
TOTAL TIME 4 hours 20 minutes + standing | SERVES 6
INGREDIENTS
Currant and anchovy dressing
- ⅓ cup currants
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic
- 4 anchovy fillets
- 1 tbsp baby capers, drained
- 1 small red onion, chopped finely
- ⅓ cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh oregano
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
Slow-roasted beef fillet
- 1.4 kg beef eye-fillet
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 bunch fresh oregano
METHOD
Currant and anchovy dressing
COMBINE currants and vinegar in a small bowl; stand for 1 hour. Pound garlic and anchovies using a mortar and pestle until smooth. Add capers, pound lightly. Add currant mixture, onion, herbs and oil. Season to taste. Stir gently to combine.
Slow-roasted beef fillet
REMOVE beef eye-fillet from fridge 1 hour before cooking to come to room temperature.
PREHEAT the oven to 75°C. Trim beef and tie with a cooking string at 4cm intervals to form an even shape. Place beef in a large roasting pan. Drizzle with half the oil. Season well. Sprinkle with sprigs of oregano.
BAKE for 3½ hours for rare to medium-rare or until meat reaches an internal temperature of 55-60°C on a meat thermometer.
HEAT remaining oil in a large pan or flameproof roasting pan over high heat. Add beef; cook, turning, for 5 minutes or until browned all over. Transfer beef to a tray. Rest, loosely covered, for 15 minutes. Pour any resting juices into the pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, simmer for 1 minute. Cool slightly. Add juices to currant and anchovy dressing.
REMOVE string from beef. Serve sliced with dressing.
FOOD TEAM TIP: Ask the butcher for a centre cut of beef eye-fillet so that it is even along its length. Roasting a lean meat like eye-fillet at a very low temperature means that the proteins don’t toughen as they would at a higher temperature, which results in a melt-in the mouth texture.
Currant and anchovy dressing Combine currants and vinegar in a small bowl; stand for 1 hour. Pound garlic and anchovies using a mortar and pestle until smooth. Add capers, pound lightly. Add currant mixture, onion, herbs and oil. Season to taste. Stir gently to combine. Slow-roasted beef fillet Remove beef eye-fillet from fridge 1 hour before cooking to come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 75°C. Trim beef and tie with a cooking string at 4cm intervals to form an even shape. Place beef in a large roasting pan. Drizzle with half the oil. Season well. Sprinkle with sprigs of oregano. Bake for 3½ hours for rare to medium-rare or until meat reaches an internal temperature of 55-60°C on a meat thermometer. Heat remaining oil in a large pan or flameproof roasting pan over high heat. Add beef; cook, turning, for 5 minutes or until browned all over. Transfer beef to a tray. Rest, loosely covered, for 15 minutes. Pour any resting juices into the pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, simmer for 1 minute. Cool slightly. Add juices to currant and anchovy dressing. Remove string from beef. Serve sliced with dressing. Slow-roasted beef fillet with currants and anchovies
Ingredients
Instructions
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ALSO SEE: Port-smoked fillet
Feature image: Aremedia
A food stylist and recipe developer, contributing to Food & Home and other esteemed magazines under Habari Media. I love for creating mouthwatering recipes, I bring culinary visions to life through my work.