Summer Menu #2
Beef fillet with watercress & rocket mustard sauce, Iraqi aubergines and creamy new potato salad for cheats
I have spent the hot hot days of the last week doing more cooking than I have for a long time. The weekend saw a sunny school picnic lunch where everyone grazes for hours, fall on the day after a Vivienne Westwood themed dinner for ten in the countryside in a tent. I volunteered to do the main event - partly because I had a hankering for a really good beef fillet with a trio of sauces, and partly because I do feel when food providing is required I have a level of responsibility to put my hand up. I love creating food for my family and friends, and I don’t find it a Herculean task which I know for so many it can seem.
And the added pressure of this usually means I get squeezed into thinking up a new recipe - either by happenstance, what I happen to have a lot of in my fridge, or because of the needs of the crowd, expectation of the event. So for this smart dinner in a tent a few hours from London that I would have to drive in Friday’s rush hour - I thought a barely seared beef fillet with some sauces would be the perfect answer to retro elegance and simplicity. Barely any transporting of pots and pans that leak and are heavy - I just brought a board to slice it on and three jam jars with the sauces to decant into bowls.
And as someone who is not hugely adept at planning ahead, or prepping everything before either, I was swimming upstream. But I survived all back to back events last weekend, the cobbled together picnic was perfectly adequate whilst lolling under apple trees. But the stand out was this beef, which got a lot of love and appreciative comments. With this rocket sauce being the favourite. I also made a smokey red pepper and tomato one, with no dairy and a little spice, and a chimichurri green sauce to cover folk with all tastes and wants.
It is most definitely a decadent menu choice - I have this once a year probably - as organic beef fillet is a big outgoing, but this rivals any dining out I promise you, and I had leftovers for perfect beef sandwiches this week.
The idea with all of these recipes is that you can eat them in the heat, they don’t require slaving over a hot stove, and you can make them all ahead and then coolly emerge with them plated and ready to go.
Seared Beef Fillet with Watercress & Mustard Sauce
There are definitely cheaper cuts of beef, and arguably with more flavour, but for a summer evening party out, think operas al fresco, smart tent dining etc - a lightly seared fillet, sliced wispy thin, and served with just some salad leaves, a few potatoes or potato salad and a sauce on the side is pretty much perfect. All can be made ahead, and there is no need to cart heavy dishes with oozing liquids around.
Serves 10-12
1.5kg beef fillet
30 ml olive oil
sea salt and pepper
Take the beef out of the fridge about an hour or two before so it reaches room temp.
I seared this over the gas barbecue as I wanted to keep it all in one piece, but if you have a griddle pan big enough do use that.
The key here is to sear the fillet at the hottest temperature you can get to on first impact.
In a lined baking tray pour over the olive oil and seasoning and massage the meat for a moment or two. Leave this for an hour or two.
Preheat the oven to 170.
Light the gas/heat the dry griddle pan and when at the hottest it can get to place the beef on the griddles and leave for about 30 seconds on each side, so that you can see browned marks, and every surface is covered, including the ends, you may need a few tongs etc for this. This should take about 2 minutes in total.
Then place in the preheated oven and cook for 12-15 minutes if you want it rare - this is always my preference and you can cook for longer but you can never unhook, so do be careful with this timing.
Remove from the oven and leave to rest for half an hour. You can test the meat by pressing it and seeing how much it springs back - the more spring back the more well done. I would be very reluctant to slice into his to see as you run the risk of losing all the juices that will keep the fillet succulent until serving time.
This will keep at room temperature for hours. I left this for 5 hours until needed.
Use a very good knife to carve into super fine slices, serve with potatoes, green leaves and sauces.
Watercress and Rocket Mustard sauce
This is peppery and mineral-infused from the trio of green leaves, but rich and almost mayonnaise like, with the mustard nose warmth that is the perfect coupling with the tender, delicately flavoured meat. Two or three slices of rare beef with a dollop of this was just the thing on our hot summer evening dinner.
I had this with smoked salmon and eggs the following days and it worked well.
50g watercress
50g rocket
50g spinach
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp greek yoghurt
250ml creme fraiche
1/2 lemon juiced
salt and pepper
Roughly chop the green leaves, and add everything in to a powerful blender - I use a thermomix for all sauces like this - and blitz together, pulsing and scaring down the sides until a thickish, mayo type sauce. Taste, season and add to a jar to transport and serve in a bowl with a teaspoon.
Creamy New Potato Salad with Broad Beans
Often without the time to spend drizzling oil and making mayo, I came up with this a couple of years ago. The dressing is instant, and the perfect gloop-consistency to bind the spuds, whilst bringing unexpected green and goodness - always the goal.
My husband (aka The Potato King see below) crowned it the best potato salad he's ever eaten.
A creamy, rich and zingy salad with so much goodness and green, I'm eating it on its own for the rest of the week.
1 kg New potatoes
1 Ripe avocado
1 lemon juiced
1 lemon zest
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove
1 Cup cooked broad beans (optional)
6 spring onions, finely sliced
1 pinch sea salt
2 tbsp chopped chives
2 tbsp chopped parsley
½ cup olive oil
Boil the potatoes in a saucepan until soft, about 10 minutes depending on size. Drain and leave to cool while you make the dressing. Put the avocado, lemon juice, zest, mustard, garlic clove, 2 tbsp olive oil and salt in the small bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Keep the blender going as you pour in the remainder of the oil until you get the right thickness. Creamy, mayo texture. Tip over the cooled potatoes, scatter in the braod beans, spring onions and herbs and mix well. Keep in fridge until needed. Scatter a few extra chives to serve.
Iraqi Smokey Aubergine & Pine Nut Salad
I first tried this at a friend’s house and scribbled down the bones of it. She was given this recipe from her mother-in-law from Baghdad, and I have played with it a little but this is utterly delicious and so easy, the perfect addition to any table for entertaining or just a quick lunch on the run. For hot days and meatless meals, this can be the centre of the table.
2 medium aubergines
1 lemon juiced
1 red onion, chopped finely
handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
200g cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp pine nuts
Preheat the oven to 180.
Prick the aubergine a couple of times with a fork (they will explode if you don't, I've blown up many of these poor vegetables) and roast in the oven, skin on, as is, for about 45 minutes until very soft to the touch.
Remove from oven and leave to cool slightly before peeling. Chop the flesh, tip into a serving bowl, and squeeze the lemon juice over to prevent it browning. Chop the cherry tomatoes and add to the aubergine with the onions, parsley and a spritz of oil, and se salt.
Cover and leave to macerate for 30 mins to 2 hours, the flavours develop better at room temp so don't fridge it. As you are serving sprinkle over the pine nuts, and an extra grind of black pepper.
Thank you for reading to the end, and as ever please drop a heart if you liked this, so that the folk out there can find this.
See you next week for the lowdown on the latest Ayurvedic head and scalp massage treatments in a beaut of a salon, and the newly launched Pleasure Atelier, sponsored by Womaniser, and run by an intoxicating French Sexologist who is making sure the “pleasure gap” is no more.
Have a lovely weekend, eat up and be well.
Lizzie
x