HEAD CHEF FABIO MIANIS BEEF FILLET TARTARE, CURED EGG YOLK & CRISPY GARLIC

Fabio Miani, Head Chef at The Wildebeest in Stoke Holy Cross, suggests a favourite dish that is fresh, quick and easy to prepare and would impress your guests when served for a Spring or Summer lunch. 

To serve 4

For the Beef Fillet Tartare

300g Fillet of Beef* (see notes below)

50g finely chopped Shallots

30g finely chopped Capers

25g finely chopped gherkins

5g Chopped Chives

1 Teaspoon Wholegrain Mustard

1 Teaspoon Tabasco Sauce

1 Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper - to taste

For the Cured Egg Yolk

4 Eggs

120g Salt

120g Sugar

For the Crispy Garlic

5 Garlic Cloves

Sunflower Oil (for frying)

Optional – to serve

Toasted hazelnuts

Garlic Mayonnaise

Herbs

Sourdough Bread and Mustard Butter

Start with curing the egg yolk. In a small container mix together the salt and sugar and put aside half of this mix, leaving approximately 2-3cm on the bottom of the container.

Using the back of a spoon, or an egg, create 4 small ‘beds’ in the salt & sugar mix in your container, ensuring you leave spaces of at least 2-3cm in between.

Carefully separate the eggs, removing as much of the egg white as possible.

Place each of the yolks in the ‘beds’ in the salt & sugar mix.

Then top with the egg white and cover completely with the remaining salt & sugar mix.

Refrigerate for 2-3 hours until the eggs have a liquid/jelly-like centre but are firm on the outside.

Remove the eggs from the salt and wash gently to remove any excess salt & sugar mix, then set aside to dry.

To make the crispy garlic

Add some sunflower oil to a small pan on a medium heat to approx. 160-165oC while you peel the cloves.

Gently grate with a medium fine grater - or a microplane food grater if you have one – and gently drop the grated garlic gently into the oil. Stir gently and continuously until the garlic is golden. Remove from the oil with a small sieve and set aside on kitchen paper. Sprinkle with salt and leave to cool.

Beef Tartare

Beef Fillet is used for this dish as it is one of the leanest cuts, so tell your Butcher you are eating this ‘tartare’ and he will supply you with the freshest available.

Using a very sharp knife, slice the fillet thinly – making sure to cut against the grain – then turn the slices and dice into small cubes. To finish the tartare, chop again to your preferred consistency. Fabio says he likes a coarse consistency to fully taste the beef.

In a bowl, mix the beef with the chopped shallots, capers, gherkins, chives and add the Wholegrain Mustard, Tabasco Sauce and Worcestershire Sauce. Add a drizzle of oil and mix - adding salt & pepper to season. Cover with clingfilm to keep fresh until you are ready to serve.

At the same time in a small saucepan heat some sunflower oil to 160/165C circa on medium heat. Once the garlic is grated simply drop it from the back of the grater in the oil gently. Continuously stir gently until the garlic is golden colour. Remove from the oil with a small sieve and dry onto a piece of kitchen paper. Sprinkle with salt and let cool down.

For the beef tartare use fillet as it’s one of the leanest cuts, making it one of the best for this kind of dish. Ask your butcher for it and also let him know that you want to eat it as tartare so he can supply you with the freshest available.

Start by finely dicing the beef with a sharp knife. To do so, slice the fillet into thin slices, always making sure to cut against the grain, turn your slice and dice into small cubes. Finish you tartare by chopping with your knife for a finer consistency. Personally I prefer a courser consistency to fully taste the beef itself.

In a bowl mix beef, shallots, capers, gherkins, chives, mustard, tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Add a drizzle of olive oil enough to glaze the mixture and with a spoon start to mix. Season with salt & pepper to taste and finish mixing. Cover with cling film to maintain freshness until you are ready to serve.

To plate up the dish

Use a round pastry cutter to gently place a layer of tartare in the centre of your plate approximately 2 cm thick.

With a spoon, make a small hole in the centre of the tartare and gently place the egg yolk in it.

Garnish with the crispy garlic.

If using, garnish with the toasted hazelnuts, herbs and garlic mayonnaise.

Serve with toasted Sourdough and a mustard butter.