Pancetta-Wrapped Beef Fillet with Red Wine Sauce
Beef fillet is always a crowd pleaser, and this pancetta-wrapped option looks so impressive and can be prepped in advance ready for a quick roast the next day.
Ingredients
1 whole beef eye fillet
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic
3 Tbsp Mandy’s horseradish and apricot mustard
2 Tbsp thyme leaves, finely chopped
2 packets Farro Pancetta slices
For the red wine sauce:
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp plain flour
150ml red wine
200ml chicken or beef stock
1 tsp red currant jelly or cranberry compote
Method
Trim the beef fillet of any sinew. Tie with kitchen twine and roll it up tightly in cling film to get a nice, rounded shape. Refrigerate, ideally overnight.
Remove the cling film and twine. Lightly oil the beef and season with salt. Heat a frying pan or BBQ and brown the meat all over (about 8mins total). Set aside to cool, then cut off the kitchen twine.
Use the side of your knife to mash the garlic with a little salt to make a paste. Put into a small bowl with the mustard and thyme leaves and mix well. Season generously with salt and pepper. Rub the mix all over the beef fillet.
Lay out the pancetta slices, slightly overlapping each piece. Lay the beef fillet across the slices and roll up tightly. Tie again with kitchen twine. You can refrigerate the meat again at this point if you want to serve it the next day, just allow time to bring it up to room temperature before cooking.
Preheat the oven to 220°C.
Put the beef onto a baking paper-lined tray and put into the oven. Cook for 20 -25 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted into the centre of the beef reaches 55°C for medium rare (or more if you prefer your beef a little more cooked). Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
For the red wine sauce:
Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes until the texture resembles wet sand. Add the wine and whisk until it comes to a simmer. Reduce by half, then add the stock and any beef cooking juices from the pan. Bring back to a simmer and reduce until you have around 200ml. Stir through the jelly. Season to taste and serve hot with the beef.