Everything about this dish is delicious. Simultaneously fresh but moreish, light but substantial. At it's heart I'm featuring chateaubriand from Swaledale Butchers and alongside it, my most favourite of salads.
We really like to support smaller businesses where we can, especially over large supermarket chains and I love that butchers and other artisan food producers are branching out and providing the means to purchase their produce nationwide.
Swaledale kindly offered me the opportunity to try their wares, a chance
at which I jumped. Yorkshire-based, top-to-tail butchery from animals
reared on small farms in the Dales, they've a wide range from prime cuts
to offal and bones. Choosing lesser known breeds and fresh over frozen, they also curate boxes should you like to try a selection - I have my eyes on this one.
I plumped
for their chateaubriand this time - pan fried, lots of butter, then
roasted whole, sliced thin, medium rare, such a treat.
Vegetarians and vegans alike avert your eyes momentarily as I share this beautiful hunk of boeuf.
Ingredients
The beef:
700g chateaubriand
A couple of sprigs of rosemary
Drizzle of olive oil
Knob of butter
A couple of crushed garlic cloves in skins
Salt & pepper
The salad:
150g washed rocket
300g carrots, peeled & chopped
2 large, or 3 small, beetroot, peeled & cut into wedges
2 good handfuls of pecans
2 tbsps light brown sugar
Chilli flakes
Salt & pepper
The dressing:
Juice of 2 lemons
A scant tsp of mustard
1 finely crushed garlic clove
Chopped rosemary
60ml olive oil
Salt & pepper
Method
Preheat an oven to 180C. Toss the beets and carrots in olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 35-40 minutes until toasty and tender.
Meanwhile add all of the viniagrette ingredients into a jar and shake well until combined.
In a dry pan over a medium heat toast the nuts until fragrant, before
adding the sugar, lots of black pepper and a pinch of salt and chilli
flakes. Once mostly melted, remove onto a sheet of parchment to cool (I
advise making more than stated here as they're a moreish snack).
For the beef, I followed Swaledale's cooking instructions:
Remove the chateaubriand from the fridge ahead of time to come up to room temp.
Season a board well with salt and pepper, roll the meat around to season all sides evenly.
Preheat an oven to 165C.
Sear the meat in a little olive oil over a high heat, quickly brown on all sides.
Turn down the heat and add butter, rosemary sprigs and garlic. Once the butter begins to foam, baste the meat.
Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 4 minutes. Flip over the steak, baste and roast for another 4 minutes.
Remove the chateaubriand from the oven to a plate/tray and tip over the
hot butter/juices. Tent with foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
Once the vegetables are cooked, remove from the oven and pour over the
viniagrette (everything goes a beautiful shade of cerise thanks to the
beets).
In a large mixing bowl, add the dressed roasted roots, rocket and pecans, toss and take to the table.
Once rested, slice the chateaubriand against the grain and serve.
I must note that the beef was delicious. Delightfully, truly tender with a smooth, rounded, beefy flavour.
Thank you to Swaledale for enabling this delicious dinner.
xx
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