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Recipe of the week: Beef fillet with chocolate, port, fig and Brussels sprouts

If the title for this recipe catches your attenion, then read on… dark chocolate and beef make a perfectly good match; with the sweet fig and earthy sprouts, these are definitely ideal seasonal ingredients. This winter dish makes a fabulous holiday meal… give it a try and tell us what you think! Beef fillet with chocolate Ingredients 4 190g pieces of Beef Fillet Sauce 1 tbsp. of juniper berry 50g of thyme 1l of pomace oil, or enough to cover 4 garlic cloves, lightly crushed 500g of beef trimmings 2 tbsp of oil 6 shallots ½ bulb of garlic 10g of thyme 3 bay leaves 10 white peppercorns 150ml of raspberry vinegar 2l of red wine 2l of brown chicken stock 2l of beef stock 50g of fig purée Salt Black pepper Ganache 50ml of port 125ml of whipping cream 140g of 70% bitter chocolate, chopped 40g of butter, softened Vegetables 250g of turnips 100g of butter 100ml of chicken stock 12 Brussels sprouts, halved 2 fresh figs, cut into eights 15g of shadow benny Directions 1. Fry the beef trimmings in oil until browned all over then set aside. Fry the shallots and garlic; add the herbs and peppercorns then deglaze the pan with 100ml of vinegar and the wine. 2. Reduce to syrup, and then add the stocks and beef trimmings. 3. Cook for 45 minutes skimming regularly. Adjust the seasoning and freshen with the remaining vinegar if necessary. Stir in the fig purée. Pass through a sieve and chill. 4. In a pan, toast and lightly crush the juniper berries. Separately blend the thyme with the oil. Add the juniper and garlic cloves to the oil. 5. Pour the mixture into a vacuum pack bag with the meat. Leave to marinate while you prepare the other elements of the dish. 6. For the chocolate ganache, put the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Bring the port and cream to the boil. Add ½ of it to the chocolate, add the butter and beat until fully combined. 7. Add the remaining cream to the chocolate mix and leave to cool. Chill to set. 8. For the beef, heat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4. Sear the beef in the oil in a hot pan and then transfer to the oven for 5-10 minutes depending on how you like it cooked. 9. Add the turnips and cook until browned on one side, turn over and brown on the other side. Pour in the stock, cover and cook until tender. 10. Fry the Brussels sprouts in a little oil until tinged brown. Add a knob of butter and 100ml of water and poach until just tender. 11. Spoon the chocolate ganache onto the plate, slice the loins in half and position the two sides of beef on top. 12. Scatter the sprouts, turnips and figs across the plate then drizzle with the jus. Thank you to Neil Sedgwick, Executive Chef of The BodyHoliday Resort, St. Lucia for the recipe. If you have a recipe you would like to share with  A Luxury Travel BlogÂ’s readers, please contact us.

Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson is Editor of A Luxury Travel Blog and has worked in the travel industry for more than 30 years. He is Winner of the Innovations in Travel ‘Best Travel Influencer’ Award from WIRED magazine. In addition to other awards, the blog has also been voted “one of the world’s best travel blogs” and “best for luxury” by The Daily Telegraph.

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3 Comments

  1. Oh Chocolates! i just love them. :)
    especially the ‘dark chocolates’
    combined to beef, just awesome!
    I want to try doing this (hoping to succeed) but one problem is I dont know that ‘juniper berry’ hehe is it okay not to include it?

  2. Yum! Beef filet with chocolate and figs… thanks for the recipe. Did you fix this yourself? It looks really great, like in one of those fancy restaurants.

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