Tournedos Marie-Louise

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch (30 cm) heavy skillet
• •Small lidded sauté pan
• •Small food processor
• •Piping bag with ½-inch (1.25 cm) plain tip
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Wire cooling rack
• •Oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the service

   Take the tournedos from the cold about twenty minutes before cooking, pat them completely dry, and tie each around its circumference with kitchen string so it keeps a neat round shape. Do not season yet. Cut four croûtons, meaning the bread rounds, to roughly match the beef. Warm a serving platter in a 200°F (95°C) oven, fit a piping bag with a ½-inch (1.25 cm) plain tip, and set a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water for holding the finished mushroom mixture. Once the beef enters the pan, there should be nothing left to chop, purée, or fetch.

2. 2

   Make mushroom purée

   Melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) unsalted butter in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and ¼ teaspoon of the salt, then cook until they release their water, the water evaporates, and the mushrooms begin taking brown colour, about 12 to 15 minutes. Purée them in a small food processor until smooth, then return the purée to the skillet and stir over medium heat until a spoon dragged through it leaves a clean path. Measure ½ cup (120 ml / about 120 g), then fold in the 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) of very reduced Soubise. This preserves the book's proportion of four parts mushroom purée to one part Soubise. If the mixture slumps instead of holding a mound, return it to the pan and reduce it for another minute or two. Transfer it to the bowl over warm water and cover.

3. 3

   Stew the artichokes

   Melt 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) unsalted butter in a small pan. Set the artichoke bottoms in cup-side up, add the water, and cover. Cook over low heat for 5 to 7 minutes, turning once, until heated through and glazed with butter but still pale. If the butter begins to colour before the artichokes are hot, add a teaspoon of water and lower the heat. Hold them covered in the warm pan.

4. 4

   Fry the croûtons

   Heat 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) clarified butter in the large skillet over medium heat. Lay in the bread rounds and fry until deep butter-gold and crisp at the edges, about 2 minutes per side. Add a little more clarified butter from the pan's edges as the bread drinks it in. Transfer the croûtons to a wire rack, not paper, so their undersides remain crisp, and keep them near the warm platter. Wipe loose crumbs from the skillet before cooking the beef.

5. 5

   Sear the tournedos

   Fill the piping bag with the warm mushroom-Soubise mixture before you begin. Season the tournedos with the remaining salt and all the pepper. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) clarified butter in the skillet over medium-high heat until it gleams, then add the beef with space between each piece. Sear without disturbing for about 3 minutes, turn, and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) unsalted butter and baste the tournedos for 30 seconds, turning them briefly onto their edges to colour the sides. For medium-rare, remove them at 122 to 125°F (50 to 52°C) and rest for 2 minutes. If the centre is under your target, return the beef to the pan in 30-second turns. Ça se rattrape. Once it reaches the right temperature, get it out of the pan and do not hold it in the oven.

   Uniform thickness matters more than extravagant beef. Four tournedos that match will finish together, which is exactly what this composed dish requires.
6. 6

   Build the crown

   Arrange the four croûtons in a loose crown on the warmed platter and set one tournedos squarely on each. Remove the strings. Place an artichoke bottom cup-side up on every tournedos, then pipe the warm mushroom-Soubise mixture into a smooth dome inside each bottom. Brush the artichokes lightly with the butter left in their pan. Bring the platter straight to the table while the bread is crisp and the beef is rosy. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask for four center-cut tenderloin medallions of equal thickness. Loose tail pieces tied into rounds cook unevenly, and this dish has no sauce to disguise one dry tournedos among three good ones.
• •Frozen or plain canned artichoke bottoms are the classical pantry's honest answer when fresh artichokes aren't worth buying. Avoid marinated bottoms packed in oil and herbs; rinse brined ones, then dry them thoroughly before the butter.
• •The Soubise must be very reduced, almost spreadable. A loose Soubise turns the mushroom purée into a puddle and slides from the artichoke; reduce it gently until the pan leaves a clean trail behind the spoon.
• •Choose pain de mie or another close-crumbed white loaf. An airy baguette drinks the butter unevenly and collapses under the beef, while a firm crumb fries into a proper support.
• •Pour a supple red Burgundy or a mature, medium-bodied Bordeaux. The wine needs enough structure for the beef, but not so much force that it buries the artichoke and Soubise.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the Soubise from its own recipe up to two days ahead. Reheat the required portion gently, then reduce it until nearly spreadable before measuring it for this dish.
• •The mushroom purée can be cooked one day ahead and chilled separately. Reheat it over gentle heat before combining it with the reduced Soubise.
• •Cut the bread rounds and drain the artichoke bottoms earlier in the day. Keep the bread covered at room temperature and the artichokes chilled, then dry the artichokes again before cooking.
• •Do not sear the tournedos ahead. The components may wait for the beef, but the beef must never wait for the components.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 230g)