Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Julia Child's Tournedos Sautes Chasseur

Tournedos Sautes Chasseur
From Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
6 crustless rounds of white bread 2½” in diameter 3/16” thick
3-4 tbsp butter (Julia suggests clarified, but I didn’t bother)
½ lb fresh mushrooms, whole if very small otherwise quartered (I used cremini, my favorite)
2-3 tbsp more butter
1 tbsp oil (I used olive oil)
2 tbsp shallots, minced
Salt & pepper to taste
4 filet steaks 1” thick 2½” in diameter, wrapped in a strip of fat (I didn't bother with the fat either)
2 tbsp more butter
1 tbsp oil
Salt & pepper to taste
½ cup beef stock or canned bouillon (I used 1 tbsp Maggi which is like Bovril in water)
1 tbsp tomato paste
¼ cup Madeira mixed with ½ tbsp cornstarch (I used sherry instead of Madeira)
2 tbsp minced parsley, tarragon & chervil or simply use parsley (my choice)

Directions:
1. Make the bread rounds:
Sauté bread rounds in hot butter and brown lightly on both sides. Reheat them in a 350°F/175°C for a minute just before serving.

2. Sauté mushrooms in hot butter and oil for 5 minutes to brown them. Stir in shallots and cook slowly for a minute or 2 more. Season and set aside.

3. Cook the steaks:
Pat them dry. Place butter and oil in a skillet (I just used the same ones for the mushrooms and kept them covered in a bowl while I sautéed the steaks) over medium-high heat. Sear the steaks for 3-5 minutes per side, depending on how rare/well done you like them.

4. Assemble: Place the steaks on the canapés (remove any string (plus fat if there is any) and keep warm while you prepare the sauce which only takes a couple of minutes. I just tented the steaks with foil.

5. Make the sauce:
Pour fat out of the skillet, stir in the stock or bouillon and tomato paste. Boil rapidly, scraping up coagulated cooking juices until liquid is reduced to 2-3 tbsp.

Pour in the starch wine mixture and boil rapidly for a minute to evaporate the alcohol and to thicken the sauce slightly. Add the sautéed mushrooms and summer a minute more to blend the flavors. Taste for seasoning.

6. Serve:
Spread the mushrooms and sauce over the steaks and sprinkle with herbs. I served it with Roasted Smashed Potatoes and some stir fried baby arugula, sauteed in a little olive oil and some garlic and a splash of balsamic vinegar. The slightly bitter taste of the arugula really balanced the very rich mushroom sauce.



5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I bet it's delicious! Now I know I need to get hold of the Julia Child's book!

Gay

Ruth Daniels said...

Gay, it is delicious. I must admit, I used to think that the "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" would be too complicated and I'm so much more into easy cooking these days. I havent made things like beef Wellington and other dishes that require twenty million pots in ages.

But the book actually has very simple recipes. Even this one takes less than 30 minutes from walking in the kitchen.

Melissa said...

I read through the recipe in its entirety and can see how it would be really easy if you just had your mise en place.

This sounds really, really good. A special meal for hub, for sure.

Ruth Daniels said...

My kitchen challenged Honey even took the last steak with all the fixings for lunch and made his own tournedos that had everyone in the office jealous.

Mary Coleman said...

This is fabulous. I haven't thought about tournedos in years.
Excellent!