See Also: Cooking Club · Main Dishes · Meat Dishes
Filet Mignon with Shallot Wine Sauce
From Dorothy McNett's recipes at www.dorothymcnett.com. Rib Eye Steak is equally wonderful done this way!
1-2 beef filet mignon steaks, 1 - 2 inches thick
freshly ground pepper
1-2 tablespoons grapeseed or other "high heat" oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 - 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, snipped
1/2 - 3/4 cup red wine (cab, merlot, zin...)
1 teaspoon tomato paste
semi-coarse sea salt for sprinkling over the cooked meat (black lava is great!)
Season each side of the steaks with freshly ground pepper. Allow to stand at room temperature at least 30 minutes, up to 1 hour. When ready to cook, heat a heavy bottomed saute or fry pan over high heat, adding the grapeseed oil. I like to use my cast iron pan as it can get nice and hot and holds the heat nicely, but any good quality pan will work. Add the steaks to the hot oil, reduce to medium high and cook 3 minutes without turning. If you are using 2 inch thick steaks, cook up to 6 minutes without turning them. Turn carefully, do not puncture meat with fork. I favor using a silicone spatula for turning them. Cook another 2-4 minutes or done to your liking, adjusting the heat down to medium. The thicker the steaks, the longer the cooking time. Remove steaks to a platter, cover loosely and set aside while you make the sauce. In the hot pan, toss in the chopped shallot and garlic, adding the butter and rosemary. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes. Add the wine and tomato paste, cook and stir using the "figure 8" method of stirring. Cook about 2-3 minutes or more, stirring constantly, until the liquids have reduced to a sauce-like consistency. Place meat on serving plates, drizzle with the sauce and sprinkle with a bit of semi-coarse sea salt. Serve!
Recipe created 2012-09-11.
