Beef Tenderloin in Chocolate Crust

To create a truly special dish, we start by melting chocolate in a double boiler, along with clarified butter. It is important to constantly stir the mixture to ensure it becomes homogeneous without burning. Once the chocolate is completely melted and integrated with the butter, we add breadcrumbs, ground nuts, salt, pepper, and thyme. These ingredients will provide a rich flavor and a pleasant texture to our dish. We mix well until all the ingredients are perfectly integrated.

When the mixture is cooled, but not completely cold, we lay a plastic wrap on a flat surface and pour the chocolate onto it. We cover it with another sheet and, using a rolling pin, spread the mixture to obtain a uniform sheet, approximately the size of the beef tenderloin we will use. Then, we place the chocolate sheet in the refrigerator to harden while we take care of the rest of the dish.

Meanwhile, we peel a sweet potato, cut it into cubes, and boil it for a maximum of 10 minutes along with 4 orange peels and a pinch of salt. This combination will add a subtle flavor and enrich the taste of the final dish. After the potato is cooked, we take care of the beef tenderloin. We brush it with butter and sear it on all sides enough to seal it, keeping the juices inside.

After removing the chocolate wrap from the refrigerator, we wrap the beef tenderloin with this delicate sheet. Then, we place it in the preheated oven, leaving it there for 10 minutes for 'rare' cooking, 13 minutes for 'medium' cooking, and 17 minutes for 'well-done' cooking. It is essential to ensure that the tenderloin reaches an internal temperature of 50-54 degrees Celsius to achieve a perfect texture.

While the tenderloin is cooking, we focus on the orange sauce. In the pan where we seared the tenderloin, we quickly sauté the orange segments in the remaining juice, deglazed with sweet cream and the juice left from the oranges. We thicken the sauce with a teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in cold water, stirring gently to avoid breaking the delicacy of the orange segments.

Once the potatoes are ready, we drain them and add the slices of ginger, butter, and sweet cream to the food processor. We mix everything until we obtain a fine and airy cream that will perfectly complement the meat.

As soon as the tenderloin is ready, we take it out of the oven and let it rest for a few minutes. It is important to score the warm crust without touching the meat to allow the juices to redistribute. In the meantime, we arrange the plate: we put a spoonful of sweet potato puree, a spoonful of orange sauce, and finally, we slice the beef tenderloin and elegantly place it in the center of the plate.

For an elegant finishing touch, in the pan where the tenderloin was cooked, a delicious combination of chocolate and meat juice remains. We gently heat this mixture, add a little butter, mix well, and decorate the plate with this savory paste. Our dish is now ready to be served, a true culinary feast that will delight any gourmet!

 Ingredients: 400 g beef tenderloin, 30 g dark chocolate 80%, 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons crushed walnuts, 60 g clarified butter, 1 sweet potato, 1 cm ginger, 200 ml heavy cream, 1 orange, 30 ml heavy cream, salt, pepper, red pepper, thyme, 10 g starch

 Tags:  meat potatoes unt sour cream life chocolate oranges nut christmas and new year's recipes