VEGETARIANS - LOOK AWAY!

I was away on my annual "Girls Weekend" recently - it's just the best thing.  We spend a weekend eating good food (and plenty of it!!) and drinking fizzy wine, but most importantly chatting.  Actually it has been called the "you're great ... no you're great .... no you're great ... we're all great" weekend.  The cheapest, and funnest (!) therapy of all time.

When we were taking a break from telling each other how great we are (seriously!) the conversation turned to food, and special occasion food to be exact.  I was telling the girls about my favourite special occasion meal, and they asked me why it wasn't on the blog - good question.  This to rectify my glaring omission!

I first saw this recipe on T.V. and I'm pretty sure it is a Jamie Oliver dish, although it has probably evolved a fair bit over the years.  It's definitely a special occasion dish as the fillet (tenderloin) of beef is so expensive - but it is always popular, it's easy to carve and the left-overs are just heavenly.  Another advantage is that if you are cooking for a large number of people the meat will have different levels of "doneness", the thin end will be well done whereas the Chateaubriand will be rare, with medium meat in the middle.  If you are cooking for a smaller number of people you can use a smaller fillet (or perhaps two pieces of fillet one that you cook to well done and the other to rare), the herbs, mushrooms and parma ham, impart a wonderful subtle flavour the the tender moist meat - it's the business!

Special Roast Fillet of Beef

This is the recipe for 6 people - but it's easily increased/decreased

1          Fillet (tenderloin) of beef - about 3lbs/1.2kg *

20        Slices of Parma Ham (more if you are cooking a large joint)

2           large garlic cloves
15g       dried porcini mushrooms
200g     mushrooms
3 tbsp   butter
1/2       lemon - juiced
2 tbsp   chopped rosemary and thyme (amount when chopped nice and small)
2 tbsp     olive oil
2           glasses of red wine

Preheat oven to 200 C

Soak the porcini mushrooms in boiling water (for at least 1/2 hour)
Heat a large frying pan and add 1 tbsp oil - sear the meat on all sides and leave aside.
Add the rest of the oil to the pan and add the sliced  fresh mushrooms and the chopped garlic - cook until tender and add the soaked procini mushrooms which you have also chopped up finely.
Add about 200ml of the soaking water and simmer until it has reduced by half.
Add the lemon juice.
Lay the parma ham out on some greaseproof paper - you want a large sheet of ham (without holes) big enough to wrap the meat.
Spread the mushroom mixture over the ham.
Pat the herbs into the meat and then place on the sheet of ham and mushrooms.
Wrap the beef with the parma ham and tie with strings.
Place the beef in a roasting tray and roast for about 40 - 50 minutes.
Halfway through the cooking time add the wine to the baking tray.
When the meat is done remove it to a serving plate and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes.
Simmer the pan juices and serve as gravy.

Enjoy.