Herbs and garlic give wonderful flavor to roasted beef fillet. If you cannot find a beef fillet wrapped in fat, you can substitute bacon for the fat. This roast is ideally cooked to medium-rare. Any longer and the meat begins to toughen and lost flavor.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 beef filet (abour 4 pounds), ready to cook, wrapped in fat, and tied very loosely
- 1 bunch fresh rosemary
- 1 bunch fresh thyme
- 1 bunch fresh oregano
- 2 cloves garlic, cut into thin slivers
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.Untie the string and carefully insert the rosemary, thyme, and oregano lengthwise under the fat, all around the filet. Retie the string, snugly this time.
With the tip of a sharp knife, cut slits through the fat and into the meat just large enough for the garlic slivers. Insert a sliver in each slit. Sprinkle the meat generously with salt and pepper to taste.
Place the filet, fat side up, in a shallow roasting pan just large enough to hold it comfortably.
Bake 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F. and bake 20 to 25 minutes longer for rare meat (120 degrees F. on a meat thermometer) or 35 minutes longer for medium (130 degrees F. on a meat thermometer).
Remove the filet roast from the oven and let it stand 10 minutes before slicing. Remove and discard the fat, string, and herbs, and cut into thin slices. Garnish with parsley. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Source: The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins (Workman Publishing)
Reprinted with permission.
