Here is a magnificent recipe for an important dinner, and it is not a difficult one in spite of the luxury of its details. Braised lettuce and potato balls sautéed in butter would go beautifully with this. Your wine choice should be the Vine Cliff Private Stock 16 Rows Cabernet Sauvignon.
Servings: 8
The Truffles
• 4 to 6 canned truffles about 1 inch in diameter
• 3 TBS Madeira
Cut the truffles in quarters. Place in a small bowl with juice from the can and the Madeira. Cover and marinate while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
The Braising Vegetables
• ¾ cup each: finely diced carrots and onions
• ½ cup finely diced celery
• 3 TBS diced boiled ham
• ¼ tsp salt
• A pinch of pepper
• A small herb bouquet: 2 parsley sprigs, 1/3 bay leaf, 1/8 tsp thyme tied in cheesecloth
• 3 TBS butter
• 1/3 cup Madeira
Cook the vegetables, ham, seasonings, herbs, and butter slowly together in a small covered saucepan for 10 to 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender but not browned. Then pour in the wine and boil it down rapidly until it has almost entirely evaporated. Set aside.
The Foie Gras Stuffing
• 2 TBS very finely minced shallots or green onions
• 1 TBS butter
• 4 ounces or ½ cup mousse de foie d' oie (or “block” foie gras, which is much more expensive but also much better)
• 1 TBS Madeira
• 1 TBS Cognac
• Pinch of allspice
• Pinch of thyme
• 1/8 tsp pepper
Cook the shallots or onions slowly in butter for 3 minutes in a saucepan without browning them. Scrape into a mixing bowl. Beat in the foie gras and other ingredients. Correct seasoning.
• A 3-lb. trimmed filet of beef, at least 3 inches in diameter
• Salt and pepper
Cut a deep slit down the length of the least presentable side of the filet, going to within ¼ inch of the two ends and to within ¼ inch of the other side, or top. Season the interior of the slit lightly with salt and pepper, and spread it with the foie gras mixture. Insert the truffles in a line down the center of the filled slit-reserve their marinade for later. Do not stuff the filet so full that the slit cannot be closed.
• A 2½-inch strip of fresh pork fat as long as the filet (or strips of blanched bacon)
• White string
Lay the pork fat or bacon strips the length of the closed slit. Tie securely but too tightly with loops of white string at 1 inch intervals.
Braising the Filet
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• A heavy, oval, fireproof casserole just large enough to hold the filet
• 2 TBS butter
• 1 TBS oil
• Salt and pepper
• A meat thermometer
Brown the filet lightly on all sides in a casserole in hot butter and oil. Discard the browning fat. Season the meat lightly with salt and pepper. (Insert the meat thermometer.) Spread the cooked vegetables over the filet.
• 2 to 3 cups good brown stock or canned beef bouillon.Pour in enough stock or bouillon to come half way up the sides of the filet. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove. Lay foil over the meat. Cover the casserole and set in lower third of pre-heated oven for 45 – 55 minutes. Regulate heat so liquid remains at a slow boil. Baste the meat with the braising stock 3 or 4 times during its cooking. The filet is done at a meat thermometer reading of 136 degrees for rare beef, or 140 degrees for medium rare, and if, when you press the filet with you finger, it offers a slight resistance in contrast to its soft, rare state.
• A hot serving platter
Place the filet slit-side down on a hot serving platter after removing the trussing strings and pork fat or bacon. The meat should cool for 10 minutes or more before carving, so that its juices will retreat back into the tissues.
Sauce and Serving
Madeira marinade from truffles
Skim the fat off the braising juices. Pour the truffle marinade into them, and rapidly boil down this liquid until it has reduced to about 2 cups and its flavor is rich and concentrated.
• 1 TBS arrowroot or cornstarch mixed with 2 TBS MadeiraBeat in the starch mixture and optional truffles. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes and then correct the seasoning. The diced matignon vegetables remain in the sauce.
Decorate the platter with whatever vegetables you have chosen (keep in mind a good color contrast to the filet). Pour a spoonful or two of the sauce and diced vegetables over the meat, and pass the rest of the sauce in a bowl. The filet is carved into crosswise slices about 3/8 inch thick.
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