A few years ago we bought a couple of Highland Steers for our little paddock, partly so that we could have access to really good meat but mostly because they were really cute.
See I told you they were cute!!
The trick was to not get too personal and always remember why they were there.
We decided to call them Lunch and diner, in honour of their contribution to the family. Tonights dish is the very last bit that we’ve been saving and I just wish that I could let you all taste a bit.
Tournedos with Polenta Croûtes & Salsa Verde
Serves 2
2 x 140g Angus Pure™ tournedos (trimmed beef fillet cut from the centre)
110gg instant polenta
60g Parmesan cheese
60g unsalted butter
75ml beef stock
2½ tbsp dry sherry or Madeira
Salt and pepper
Avocado oil for frying and greasing
Salsa Verde:
1 garlic cloves ½ tbsp Dijon mustard
Bunch of flat leaf parsley ½ tbsp wine vinegar
Bunch of basil or mint leaves 75ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp capers
Method
Allow steaks to come to room temperature. Meanwhile, make the polenta, stir in the grated parmesan cheese and half the butter and season liberally. Pour out 1cm thick onto an oiled baking tray. Refrigerate until set firm and then, using a pastry cutter slightly larger than the tournedos, cut 4 rounds from the sheet of polenta.
To make the salsa verde, finely chop the garlic and then put into 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. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Preheat oven to 220°C. Melt half the remaining butter in a frying pan with 1 tablespoon oil. Lightly season polenta rounds and fry for 1 minute each side and transfer to a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven, carefully turn over using a spatula and bake for a further 5 minutes until crisp.
Heat a clean frying pan dry until very hot. Flatten tournedos slightly with heel of hand and season. Cook over a high heat for 3 minutes on each side for rare and 4 minutes for medium. Transfer to a warm plate, cover and keep warm. Pour beef stock and sherry or Madeira into pan to deglaze, quickly reducing liquid to a syrupy consistency. Add remaining butter, a small piece at a time, swirling pan until incorporated to finish the texture of the sauce and give a beautiful gloss.
To serve, put a crisp polenta croûte on each warmed plate and top with tournedos. Stir into the sauce any juices that have exuded from tournedos while resting and then spoon this over each steak before spooning the salsa verde on top.
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