Beef Filet with Tomato Confit
Easy make-ahead dish to serve a group.
The Madeira really makes a difference in the tomato confit. You can prepare the confit ahead of time, and cook the beef at the last minute, so it’s an easy dish to serve a group. Serves 4 to 6.
Beef Ingredients
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
3/4 cup finely chopped shallots
2 tablespoons finely chopped thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 (4 to 4 1/2 pound) trimmed beef tenderloin roast, tied
Confit Ingredients
8 large garlic cloves
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 (14-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper
1 cup Madeira (preferably Verdelho), divided
1/4 cup water
Directions
Marinate Beef. Stir together garlic, shallots, herbs, oil, kosher salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper, then rub all over beef. Marinate in a sealed large bag, chilled, 1 day. Let stand at room temperature 2 hours before roasting.
Prepare Confit. Cook garlic in oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-low heat, turning occasionally until barely golden but not brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Add tomatoes, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, sugar, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup Madeira. Briskly simmer, stirring frequently while crushing tomatoes with a heatproof rubber spatula, until tomatoes start to break down and oil separates slightly, about 1 hour. Mash garlic into tomatoes with spatula, then stir in 1/4 cup Madeira. Discard bay leaf.
Roast the Beef. Preheat oven to 300 degrees with rack in middle. Roast beef on a rack over a 17 by 11-inch shallow heavy baking pan until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of thickest part of meat registers 130 degrees, about 45-60 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand, loosely covered with foil for 30 minutes. This will produce medium rare beef. Meanwhile, add water and remaining 1/4 cup Madeira to baking pan and deglaze over medium-low heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Stir into tomato confit.
Serve: Cut off and discard string from beef, then cut meat into 1/2-inch thick slices. Serve with confit. This dish is excellent with the wild mushroom bread pudding.