Recipe
for :
 This
recipe is produced by kind permission of Monsieur Michel
Roux and comes from his recently published book "Life
is a Menu". My wife and I so enjoyed this recipe
that it was a must to publish it. Monsieur Roux's comment
about this recipe was:
"This
dish is quick to prepare and cook, and is very luxurious.
Never overcook it! A perfect garnish would be
rice pilaf, steamed potatoes or fresh pasta, the latter
a favourite with Cécile de Rothschild. Taking
so little time to prepare, this is an ideal dish when
guests turn up without warning".
Preparation
time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
750g
beef fillet trimmed
60g clarified butter
50ml cognac
30g unsalted butter
60g chopped shallots
100ml dry white wine
200ml veal or chicken stock
300ml double cream
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper
75g small French gherkins (cornichons)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Method
Preparing
the beef:
- Cut
the fillet of beef into long and thick strips (goujonnettes)
of approximately 10 cm long and 2 cm wide.
- Put
the clarified butter in a very hot frying pan and
seal all the goujonnettes very quickly for
about 1 minute, to lightly brown.
- Pour
in the cognac, ignite it and then transfer the meat
to a colander placed over a plate. At this stage,
the meat must be very rare.
Making
the sauce:
- In
the same frying pan, melt the unsalted butter and
sweat the shallots.
- Add
the white wine and reduce the liquid by half.
- Add
the veal or chicken stock, and let it simmer for a
couple of minutes, then add the cream, paprika and
lemon juice.
- Reduce
the sauce until it lightly coats the back of a spoon.
- Pass
the sauce through a conical strainer and reheat.
- Put
the goujonnettes back into the boiling sauce.
- Simmer
the meat for 30 seconds if you want it rare and for
1 - 2 minutes if you prefer it medium to well done.
To
serve:
- Add
the gherkins to the meat and sauce and pour into a
deep dish. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.
Serves
4
Michel
Roux
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