Beef Tenderloin With Roasted Shallots

Chef Booshman's Note:

This recipe is modified from Christine's at Allrecipes.com. It is a gourmet-style meal that is great for a dinner party with the boss. A little time consuming but will make a novice look like a pro. The shallot sauce alone is worth the recipe. I made this and doubled the recipe. No leftovers. Will have to triple it next time! You can prepare the shallots a day ahead of time (especially helpful if you plan on serving this for a holiday dinner).

• Total Time: 4 hrs
• Prep Time: 2 hrs
• Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• ¾ lb shallot , peeled and halved lengthwise
• 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 3 cups low sodium beef broth (I use low-sodium, otherwise it's too salty)
• ¾ cup port wine (I used Mountain Burgundy from a box and it came out fine)
• 1 ½ teaspoons tomato paste
• 2 lbs beef tenderloin , trimmed (same cut filet mignon comes from)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3 slices bacon
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F In a roasting pan, toss shallots with oil to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Roast until shallots are deep brown and very tender. Set the timer for 15 minutes, stir, turn over. Repeat 3 more times for a total of 60 minutes.
3. In a large saucepan, combine beef broth and wine. Bring to a boil. Cook over high heat until the volume is reduced by half, about 30 minutes (mine took 20). Whisk in tomato paste. Set aside.
4. Pat beef dry. Tie up roast to that it will cook evenly. Sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. (Sure seems like a lotta salt, use Salt-Free Montreal Steak Seasoning instead). In a large roasting pan, set over medium heat on the stove top, sauté bacon until crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towels. Add beef to pan; brown on all sides over medium high heat, about 7 minutes.
5. Transfer pan to oven. Roast beef at 350°F until meat thermometer inserted into center registers 125°F for medium rare, about 25 minutes/pound. (Start checking with a meat thermometer after 1 hour). Transfer beef to platter. Tent loosely with foil.
6. Spoon fat off top of pan drippings in roasting pan. Place pan over high heat on stove top. Add broth mixture, and bring to boil, stir to scrape up any browned bits. Transfer to a medium saucepan, and bring to simmer. Mix 1-1/2 tablespoons butter and flour in small bowl to form smooth paste; whisk into broth mixture, and simmer until sauce thickens. Whisk in remaining butter. Stir in roasted shallots, and crumble the bacon. Season with salt (?) and pepper.
7. Cut beef into 1/2 inch thick slices. Spoon some sauce over.
8. Serve with a green salad and roasted vegetables.

Reviews

[Chef @Oz]

Wow, this is quite a dish! People licked their plates clean it was so good. I did use the recommended salt reduced broth and was really glad because with the bacon, there was plenty of salt. I used a good quality dry red boxed (cask) wine which was fine. My only reservation was the use of thyme. DH remarked that the meat tasted 'different' to usual. The rest of us were fine but it does impart a herbiness to the meat which can be unexpected. I also added some sauteed and sliced swiss brown mushrooms to the sauce along with the bacon which just made the sauce heavenly.

[lalouche]

great! Made it for xmas dinner. NOTHING left!

[MacFie]

Absolutely loved it, thanks!