Mount Majura Shiraz with Herb Crusted Beef Fillet and Pickled Radishes

Pickled Radishes

Bunch of radishes

3/4c water

3/4c apple cider vinegar

2Tb golden syrup (or maple syrup, or sugar)

1/2tsp dried thyme

1/2tsp black peppercorns

1/2tsp yellow mustard seeds

4 whole cloves garlic

2tsp salt

Wash radishes and slice thinly on a mandolin. Put all the other ingredients into a small pot and bring to a simmer for a minute or two. Push the radishes into two medium jars or one big one and our over even amounts of the hot liquid. Close and pop in the fridge and use from the next day onwards.

Herb crusted Beef fillet

(Feeds 2 adults or 1 adult and 2 very lucky children)

1 beef fillet – approximately 500gms – trim the sinew and any extra fat, cut into two even pieces

3Tbs Dijon mustard

1tb evoo

1c mixed chopped herbs – I used fresh thyme, oregano and parsley

Salt

2 big King brown mushrooms

Half a bunch enoki mushrooms

1 head of garlic, cloves separated but not peeled

Red wine Sauce

Offcuts from mushrooms

1c chicken stock

1c red wine

50gms butter

Salt and pepper

Season the beef fillets, rub both fillets with the mustard, covering both evenly. Chop the fresh herbs and mix in a bowl with the olive oil, pack the herbs evenly on both beef fillets. The mustard acts as a binding agent as well as a delicious flavour. Season with a little more salt. Tie both with kitchen string so they keep their round shape when pan fried. Wrap the beef fillets in glad wrap, tightly rolled into fat sausages and refrigerate overnight. If you’re unsure how to roll the beef up, jump onto Youtube and search for “tie a beef fillet”.

When you’re ready to cook, take the beef out of the fridge and pop on the bench while you prep all the other components. Cut the bottoms off both the king browns and the enoki and put into a pot with 1 cup of chicken stock and boil for at least 10 minutes to extract all the mushroom flavour. Now you have a mushroom stock! Set aside until you’re making the sauce.

Half the king browns and add to a hot frypan with a knob of butter and a splosh of olive oil. Fry until the cut side is beautifully coloured. Remove from the pan and set aside to keep warm in a foil tent. Add a little more butter and oil to the pan and add both the unwrapped beef fillets, pan fry until golden brown, flip over and do the other side. Add the garlic cloves and the enoki mushroom bunch at this stage, give them a roll around in the oil/butter and then put the whole pan into a pre-heated 200 degree oven. Roast until the beef is medium rare. Probably no more than 10-15 minutes.

Remove the beef, garlic and mushrooms and set aside to rest and keep warm with the king browns.

Sauce

Pop your HOT pan back onto a low heat on the stove, drain the mushroom stock into the pan and scrape all the delicious bits off the bottom. Bring to a simmer and add the cup of red wine, simmer until the liquid has reduced by half (you can strain the sauce into a little saucepan if you want it nice and speck free, or just continue with the next step). Add 50gms of butter and stir vigorously until the sauce is gleaming and thick, check for saltiness, but definitely add some freshly ground black pepper.

Drain a few spoonful’s of the pickles and place on a plate, slice the beef fillets into 3 slices each, add both mushrooms, the beef and garlic cloves between 2 plates and spoon over the sauce generously. Steamed potatoes is all else you’ll need, along with two great big glasses of Mount Majura Shiraz and some sourdough to mop up all that delicious sauciness. Bon appetite.