Day Thirty-Nine - Beef Tenderloin with Mushroom Ragout (3.12.14)

Ingredients

Beef

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 beef tenderloin filets (4-6 oz each), cut 1 in. thick, trimmed
• Salt and coarsely ground black pepper
• Quick Polenta*

*Quick Polenta

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 pressed garlic clove
• 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
• 1 Tbsp butter

Mushroom Ragout

• 2 cups baby portobello or white mushrooms
• 2 large shallots
• 3/4 cup dry red wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
• 2 Tbsp butter
• Salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1) For beef, add oil to 10-in. skillet; heat over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. As pan heats, season both sides of filets with salt and black pepper.

2) Cook filets undisturbed 2-3 minutes or until well browned. Turn filets over; cook an additional 2-3 minutes or until thermometer registers 140 degrees for medium-rare doneness. Remove from heat; transfer filets to plate and let stand 5 minutes (temperature will rise to 145 degrees).

3) As beef cooks, prepare Quick Polenta*. Meanwhile, start ragout. Chop mushrooms. Add mushrooms to skillet; return skillet to medium-high heat. Cook 3-4 minutes or until mushrooms are golden brown, stirring occasionally. Remove mushrooms from skillet.

*Combine 1 1/2 cup water, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp black pepper and 1 pressed garlic clove in microwave safe dish; cover and microwave on HIGH 2 minutes or until water is steaming. Whisk in 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal. Microwave 2 minutes. Whisk in 1 Tbsp heavy whipping cream and 1 Tbsp butter.

4) As mushrooms cook, thinly slice shallots; add shallots and wine to skillet. Simmer 3-4 minutes or until wine is almost completely evaporated. Meanwhile, chop parsley. Add half of the parsley and broth; simmer an additional 1-2 minutes or until broth is reduced by half.

5) Return mushrooms to skillet and whisk in butter. Season sauce to taste with salt and black pepper. To serve, divide polenta between serving plates. Slice beef into thick slices and place over polenta. Top with ragout and remaining parsley. Serve immediately.

Opinions

Katie: Mmm this was good. The meat was very tender and the ragout was good. I thought the ragout would be a bit creamer, but Potter and I talked about thinking that was due to using red onions instead of shallots. Plus, you have to drink wine when you make it so you don't waste the rest of the bottle.

Potter: This was awesome. Even though the sauce never really thickened into sauce it tasted delicious. I devoured mine. I'm definitely going to earmark this recipe for 'practicing' in the future. I also think this would be a good dish to scale up for impressing family. Tastes super fancy, doesn't cost a ton.