Beef fillet with polenta and salsa verde recipe by Pieter Ferreira paired with The Ridge Syrah wine.
Ingredients
4 x 140 g beef fillets (centre cut, trimmed)
225 g instant polenta
115 g Parmesan cheese
115 g unsalted butter
olive oil for frying and greasing
salt and freshly ground black pepper
150 ml beef stock (see below)
75 ml dry port
Salsa Verde
2-3 cloves garlic
a large bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley
a bunch of fresh basil leaves (or mint leaves)
30 ml capers
15 ml Dijon mustard
15 ml wine vinegar
150 ml olive oil
Beef Stock
beef bones
2 onions
3 carrots
1 leek
1 litre good red wine, such as Graham Beck The Joshua
500 ml water
1 bouquet garni
Recipe
Serves 4
Remove the fillets from the fridge ahead of time to allow them to reach room temperature.
Prepare the polenta at least 1 hour before you cook the fillets. Follow the instructions on the packet. Grate the Parmesan cheese into the polenta with half the butter. Season with salt and pepper. Oil a baking tray and pour the polenta mixture into the tray to about 1 cm thick. Leave to cool and then refrigerate. When firm, use a cookie cutter of slightly larger size than the fillet rounds to cut four rounds from the sheet of polenta. Brush with olive oil.
To make the salsa verde, finely chop the garlic and put it in a food processor with all the other ingredients, except the olive oil. Process until evenly chopped and then add the oil, continuing to process until smooth. If necessary, adjust the seasoning to taste.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. For the stock, add the bones to a large ovenproof pot and roast them, turning regularly, until well browned. Remove the pot from the oven and place it on the stove over moderate heat. Add the onions, carrots, and leeks. Sweat the vegetables while stirring. Add the wine and water. Add the bouquet garni and reduce the stock by at least half. Strain the liquid and set it aside.
In a frying pan over moderate heat, melt 15 ml butter with 15 ml olive oil. Fry the polenta rounds for 1 minute on each side. Transfer them to another oiled baking tray. Bake at 180 °c for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn them over. If they stick, return to the oven and cook a little longer. (As the rounds start to crisp, they will lift around the edges and detach easily.) Bake for a further 5 minutes. Finish the polenta just before the fillets.
'Cinch' the 'waist' of each fillet with string. Heat a pan until very hot. Flatten tile fillets lightly with the heel of the hand and season. Cook over high heat for 3 minutes on each side (for rare), or 4 minutes (for medium). Transfer to a warm plate, cover, and keep warm.
For the sauce, scoop any excess fat off the top of the reduced beef stock and return the stock to the stove. Add the port and stir continuously until the liquid achieves a syrupy consistency. Add the remaining butter, a small piece at a time, swirling the pan until it's incorporated. This finishes the texture of the sauce and gives it a beautiful gloss.
Place a crisp polenta round on each warmed plate. Pour the reduced sauce around the polenta until it looks like an island. Place a tournedo on the polenta rounds, and spoon a generous helping of the salsa the fillet.
Inspired by a dish from English chef Alistar Little; it's worth the extra time it takes to make the stock.
Wine Pairing
The Ridge Syrah ('As rich, spicy and opulent as The Joshua, it matches the red meat and salsa verde, and has a softness and elegance about it that is just magic with the lovely sauce.')