Delishuss Blog

I loved Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Cooking series on Lifestyle Food. I bought the app for my android phone but something happened to it and it stopped working. So, I treated myself to Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Home Cooking cookbook before Christmas. This recipe is taken from the book. While the recipe took longer than expected, I will explain as I go through the method, it was absolutely gorgeous.

A note from the main man: The beef should not be cooked to well-done, “it would be a travesty”.

Ingredients

Olive oil, for frying

1kg piece of beef fillet cut from the thick end

2 heads of garlic, halved horizontally

4 thyme sprigs

2 rosemary sprigs

Butter, for basting

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Salsa Verde

5 anchovy fillets, reserve some of their oil

1 1/2 tbsp capers

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 1/2 tbsp sherry or red wine vinegar

Extra virgin olive oil

Bunch of parsley, leaves only

Small bunch of mint, leaves only

Freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius/Gas 6

2. Place a heavy based ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat and add a dash of olive oil. Season the beef all over, then brown in the pan on all sides for a minute or two. Add the garlic, thyme and rosemary and roll the beef around with the herbs. Add a couple of knobs of butter and, when melted, baste the beef in it. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 10-12 minutes (rare) or 15-17 (medium rare). Okay, I cooked it in the oven for 15-17 minutes and it was very rare when I carved it. So I put it back in the oven sliced for another 10 minutes and it was cooked to medium to medium rare in some pieces. My recommendation is to use a meat thermometer to gauge how well the meat is cooked.

3. Meanwhile, make the salsa verde. Put the anchovies with a teaspoon of their oil, capers, garlic, a pinch of salt and half the herbs, in a mortar and pound with the pestle until a paste has formed. Stir in the mustard and vinegar. Loosen with a little oil, then stir the rest of the herbs. Mix well to your preferred consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.

4. Once the beef is cooked to your liking, baste it in the pan juices and transfer to a warm plate. Spoon over a couple of spoonfuls of salsa verde, cover loosely with foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes.

5. To serve, slice thickly and spoon the salsa verde alongside. I served this with potato bake and Matt Preston’s Innocent Pea Salad with Evil Porky Pepita Crunch.

Note: I’m not a big fish fan so I was worried that the anchovies could be very over-powering so I reduced the quantity to two. You couldn’t taste them in the salsa verde. I promise, non-fish lovers 😉