Black Angus, Roast Eschalot Soubise, Black Barley, Beetroot and Truffled Peas - Chef Recipe by Ben Bamford

Ingredients

180g good quality Angus beef fillet
2 brown onions
3 cloves garlic
1 stick rosemary
1 stick thyme
10g activated charcoal
30g koji grains
10g dried porcini
Salt and pepper

Black Barley:

60g black barley
1 clove garlic
2 bay leaves
300mL beef stock
Salt and pepper

Beetroot:

3 small fresh beetroot
30mL honey
Salt
1 bay leaf

Soubise:

4 French eschalots, peeled
1 bay leaf
Salt
White pepper
2 cloves garlic, peeled
300mL full cream milk

Beetroot Puree:

3 small fresh beetroot, peeled
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 Tbs honey
Salt and honey

Method

For the beef:

Dry roast the onions at 84 C for 24 hours with crushed garlic, rosemary and thyme. When completely dry, place in a blender or food processor, with remaining ingredients (except beef) and blend until consistency of a fine powder.

Remove all sinew and fat from beef fillet, liberally roll in the onion powder mix. Set aside for an hour and then repeat.

After the second roll, place the fillet in a vacuum bag and sous vide for 25 minutes at 53 C. Remove from water and allow to cool in the refrigerator.

Black barley:

Soak the black barley in salted water for four hours, then strain.

Add all ingredients together in a saucepan, bring to the boil, reduce heat and gently simmer until barley is al dente. Remove any excess liquid and set aside.

Beetroot:

Wash beetroot thoroughly and place in a pan with the honey, bay leaf and salt. Cover with cold water, bring to the boil and simmer until the skin of the beetroot is easy to remove. Take off heat, cool and peel beetroot.

Set aside.

Soubise:

Thinly slice eschalots and garlic. Add to fry pan and saute on a very low heat, add the bay leaf. When soft, pour in the milk and gently cook for 5-10 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf, strain mix and place liquid in a food processor and blend on high. You may need to add a splash of extra milk to achieve the right consistency – it should be a smooth, thick sauce.

Season and set aside.

Beetroot puree:

Slice beetroot and garlic, add to fry pan and gently saute until the garlic is soft. Cover with water, honey and add a pinch of salt and pepper, bring to the boil and simmer until beetroot is soft.

Remove from the heat and strain, keeping the cooking liquid.

Place beetroot in a blender and blend on a high speed, add a little of the cooking liquid until a smooth consistency is achieved. Set aside.

Cooking and plating:

Heat a non-stick fry pan and add a teaspoon of oil and butter. When the butter starts to brown, add the beef fillet and cook for one minute on one side.

During this time, add the cooked baby beetroot to the same pan. Turn the fillet and cook for another minute on the next side. Immediately add the black barley to the same pan to ensure it soaks up the cooking juices from the fillet.

Set aside in a warm area to rest for about 5 minutes.

Once the fillet has rested, place the pan in a pre-heated oven at 180 C for 5 minutes.

During this time, begin to plate the dish. Spoon the warm beetroot puree across a large dinner plate.

Remove the fillet pan from the oven and cut the fillet into 3-4 pieces, depending on its size and shape and arrange on the puree.

Spoon the black barley between the beef pieces, place the cooked baby beetroot on top of the barley and garnish with the soubise, snow pea leaves, fresh slices of target beetroot and fresh peas, steamed and tossed in truffle oil.