Beef Tenderloin With Red Wine, Anchovies, Garlic and Thyme

Name: Beef Tenderloin With Red Wine, Anchovies, Garlic and Thyme
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), 2 tablespoons cut into small dice and chilled; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 8 shallots, sliced or minced; Kosher salt; 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 scant teaspoon dried thyme; 8 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed with the flat side of a chef’s knife; 12 anchovy fillets packed in olive oil, drained and minced; 2 pieces beef tenderloin, 1 1/2 pounds each, trimmed and cleaned; Freshly milled black pepper; 2 teaspoons sugar; 1/4 cup brandy; 1 1/4 cups good red wine; Fresh arugula, for serving

Recipe from Nigella Lawson

Adapted by Besha Rodell

Beef Tenderloin With Red Wine, Anchovies, Garlic and Thyme — Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Liza Jernow.

Total Time: 1 hour
Rating: 4(235)
Notes: Read community notes

“How To Eat” by Nigella Lawson is a cookbook, but one of its great joys is its narrative form: Very few of the recipes are written in standard recipe format. This recipe, from the Dinner chapter, is an exception. “This, to me, is the perfect dinner,” Ms. Lawson writes, “simple, impeccable, beautiful.” She suggests serving it with a pea and avocado salad, and adding arugula leaves not only for decorative reasons but also because “its pepperiness perfectly offsets the salty pungency of the anchovy-red-wine sauce.” —Besha Rodell

Featured in: Nigella Lawson Was Never Just a Domestic Goddess

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

4tablespoons unsalted butter (½ stick), 2 tablespoons cut into small dice and chilled
2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8shallots, sliced or minced
Kosher salt
2teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 scant teaspoon dried thyme
8garlic cloves, peeled and crushed with the flat side of a chef’s knife
12anchovy fillets packed in olive oil, drained and minced
2pieces beef tenderloin, 1½ pounds each, trimmed and cleaned
Freshly milled black pepper
2teaspoons sugar
¼cup brandy
1¼cups good red wine
Fresh arugula, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
In a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or pot in which the beef will fit comfortably (the two pieces mustn’t touch each other, and no scrunching at the ends), heat 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon oil over lowish heat. Add the shallots, sprinkle with a little salt, and sauté until soft and transparent but in no way coloring, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme and give 2 more minutes, stirring, then add the garlic and push about the pot.
Step 2
Add the anchovies and cook until they’ve started fusing with the oniony, buttery, oily mess in the pot. Transfer this shallot mixture to a bowl for a minute so you can brown the meat.
Step 3
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pot and turn up the heat. Pat the beef dry and season it all over with salt and pepper. Sear the beef on all sides, sprinkling with the sugar as you do so, till you’ve got a good crusty exterior. Add the brandy, let it bubble up a bit, then pour in the wine.
Step 4
Return the shallot mixture to the pot. Lower the heat and turn the meat over. Give everything a good stir to make sure the shallots, garlic and so on are not burning or sticking. Cover and cook for 10 minutes — the meat is braising, frying and steaming all at the same time; as it cooks it breathes in flavor.
Step 5
Uncover, peek in, prod or poke. If the meat is springy, it’s rare; springy but with some resistance, medium-rare to medium. Turn the meat over, cover again, and leave for another 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your findings and taste. When the meat is almost as you like it, transfer it to a cutting board (it will cook a little more as it rests) and get on with the sauce. And you can do all this before you sit down for the first course.
Step 6
Fish out the garlic from the pot with a spoon. Then turn up the heat and let the sauce bubble up a good bit, and taste, adding salt, if needed, and pepper. You may want to add some water. Take off the heat, but warm up before serving, at which time you should first pour into it the meat juices that have run out of the cooked beef as it stands and whisk in the remaining chilled, diced butter.
Step 7
Carve the beef, arrange on a large, warmed platter, and surround with arugula. Drizzle over some of the sauce, leaving the rest in a sauce boat or pitcher for people to pour for themselves.

Ratings

4 out of 5

235 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

Rob5 years ago

Although just "sloshing in a few glugs" is fun, it would be helpful to have an idea as to how much brandy and wine to add.

DKW5 years ago

Can this be made without the anchovies. I just can't..........

William Powell5 years ago

Absolutely awful. When was the last time you said, "Wow I bet some steamed, very expensive, steak would hit the spot!" Well, probably never, and that is exactly what this is. I should have known better, but I followed the recipe, only to get a nasty product at the end. It would have been so much better to put a decent brown crust on the exterior and then either continued to cook it in the cast iron skillet, or finish it in the oven, perhaps topped by some kind of sauce. This was ghastly.

Jon5 years ago

The photo is of a tenderloin cooked via Sous Vide to 125F. I'd recommend cooking to 125F in the pot and then covering with foil for 5 minutes prior to slicing. The meat should finish at 130 and be perfect. The Themapen is ideal for this.

sschuenema5 years ago

It tells you in the recipe how much red wine and brandy to add.

mary Z5 years ago

I followed the recipe exactly. I am old (62yrs) and kinda know how to cook. I don't know quite how to say this since I am dealing with an erstwhile domestic goddess but...This recipe was really boring to eat. It seemed very bland. Should I have seared the meat turning for like 7-10 min. til it was really black? Should I have left the garlic to saute for longer than two min.? Should I have added a swipe of vinegar to the final sauce? Help me out folks. Thanks for any input.

Lesa5 years ago

Try the anchovy paste. instead of the filets. You don't have to look at them!

Marlene5 years ago

Maybe use a few teaspoons of fish sauce, which is made from anchovies. That's what I use as a substitute. You can find it in the Asian section of your supermarket or at specialty stores.

Chatulim95 years ago

You can use miso or soy sauce to get that umami flavor. But you should really try to have the anchovies in the recipe. Can someone else add them in so you aren't physically present when they're added? The flavor they add isn't easily duplicated. I know, they're a bit strange-looking. But worth it!

Jeff T3 years ago

This was my first braising and first tenderloin and it was delicious. (I’ve cooked a *lot* of filets, so I do have that experience on timing/heat.) I cooked just 1.5 lb tenderloin bc we’re just two adults and two small children. I halved the ingredients and followed the directions to a T except I lightly pre-salted the beef w kosher salt about 5 hours before cooking because Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. We’ll be making this again.

GiGi5 years ago

Too much wine for the beef to be swimming in. Next time I'll cut that portion in half. Flavors were good (no anchovies-ick) and I covered the platter with good blue cheese, crumbled.

Mary Beth5 years ago

Leave off the sugar during browning and the recipe is perfect1

sur5 years ago

I have to disagree, I made this a fee months ago and it was absolutely delicious. So much so that I’m planning on making it again this weekend.

William Powell5 years ago

Riley5 years ago

This was fantastic. I added about 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar, which I thought it needed to balance the flavors. My family loved it.

mary Z5 years ago

Cheryl5 years ago

Try with boneless turkey breast

D5 years ago

Didn’t want to spend $ last night for tenderloin so tried a large London broil. Was a bit tough but had leftovers. Sauce was great but better on day two with leftover meat. Needed crusty bread for last bits of sauce. Added tomatoes to the arugula. Will experiment with other cuts of meat and make again.

Bob5 years ago

In step 5, the "peek, prod, and poke "stage, what temperature would you suggest for med rare --- perhaps 125F -- if it warms internally more while resting? I want the look in the photo, but not raw purple.