Sunday Evening Dinner - Rare beef Fillet with Parmesan, Pine Nuts & aged Balsamic,

What better place to start than with an easy Sunday dinner, I love doing something a bit more special for the family over the weekend before we hit the drudgery of school, dancing and the hundreds of other daily tasks which eat up - pardon the pun - our time. I have been trying to instil the old fashioned value of all sitting together at the dinner table. This is one of our favourites: Rare Roast Beef Fillet with Pine Nuts, Parmesan shavings and aged Balsamic Vinegar. Served with Yummy, Crispy Parmesan and Basil Roast Potatoes. I enlist the help of Paige our youngest daughter and budding cook.

Beef Fillet

1 Beef fillet - approx 700g (feeds 4 for dinner and a little left over for sarmies during the week)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil - some
Cracked Black Pepper - a good grinding to cover the meat
Fresh Garlic Cloves - about 5
Fresh Lemon Zest - from 1 lemon


Rub the meat well with the olive oil, black pepper and lemon zest and place in a marinading dish with the garlic cloves for about an hour and turn from time to time.

TOP TIP: Always cook meat which is at room temperature to get a better end result and then allow to rest at least 10 minutes after cooking.

Potatoes:

3 small potatoes per person - my family love roast potatoes (I like the Ruby Lou for roasting, the crisp beautifully and the flesh stays creamy.
Flour for dusting
1/2 Cup Finely Grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon Maldon salt
Fresh Basil leaves very finely chopped (about a teaspoon once chopped)
2 Tablespoons butter melted

Heat the oven to 200C

Wash the potatoes and slice in half lengthways leaving the skin on.
Pat dry and then toss well in the melted butter
Toss through the Flour, Parmesan, Basil and Salt.

Place in a roasting tray and bake 40 - 50 mins until crisp and golden.
As soon as the potatoes go into the oven I brown the fillet in a searingly hot pan - my husband calls me Smokey Robinson because I always smoke out the whole house. Use a heavy based pan and allow it to start smoking naturally - DO NOT add oil to the pan there should be enough oil on the meat. Add to the pan and allow to brown very well on all sides


While the meat is browning toast a good generous handful of Pine Nuts - watch them carefully or they burn- and make some Parmesan shavings, a little helper is great for this job.
Once the meat is well browned place into the same tray as the potatoes and roast 20 minutes (Rare). Remove the meat and test for doneness using the touch method - give the meat a good squeeze, if it is bouncy it is rare, the firmer it feels the more "done" it is and then allow it to rest 10 minutes before slicing. While the meat is resting, toss some Rocket and Baby Spinach with some good Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a little Maldon Salt And place on a beautiful white plate. Add the meat and layer with a little more of the salad leaves, Pine Nuts and Parmesan shavings, and finish off with a good drizzle of Aged Balsamic vinegar



So after all that Paige and I ate alone at the table because Zoe and her dad had gone fishing and she was having such a great time they stayed longer than anticipated, but hey it was still delicious and Paige and I had a great time together in the kitchen. Try this with a good glass of red.