Beef fillet with baby spinach and fondant potatoes

Try this delicious beef fillet with spinach and potatoes from Celebrity Masterchef winner and former England rugby captain, Phil Vickery, who took on our resident chef, Phil Vickery!

Ingredients

For the beef:

4 middle cut beef fillets, trimmed
Knob of duck fat
Knob of butter

For the potatoes:

150 g5¼ oz butter
4 white potatoes, peeled and cut into barrel-shapes
500 ml17½ fl oz chicken stock
A handful of thyme
Salt and pepper

For the creamed spinach:

400 g14 oz spinach
1 large knob of butter
1 heaped tbsp full fat crème fraiche
Fresh horseradish, grated, to taste
1 garlic clove, crushed
Salt and pepper

For the sauce:

Shallots
A knob of butter
1 garlic clove, chopped
250 ml8¾ fl oz chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp thyme, chopped
Couple glugs of red wine
Salt and pepper

Method: How to make Beef fillet with baby spinach and fondant potatoes

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4.

For the fondant potatoes:

Heat the butter in a pan, add the potatoes and fry until nicely coloured all over. Then put them in an ovenproof dish with the chicken stock, thyme and a bay leaf and place them in the bottom of the oven for roughly an hour – making sure that you keep basting them. Season, to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

For the sauce:

Soften some shallots with butter, chuck in a bit of garlic, some chicken stock and reduce down with a bay leaf and some thyme. Add some red wine, salt, pepper and reduce down to a sauce like consistency.

For the creamed spinach:

Wash the spinach thoroughly and then drain it. Take a pan and heat through. Melt the butter and when it’s hot, not smoking, put in all of the spinach a couple of handfuls at a time. When the spinach has all wilted, drain and press away the excess water with a wooden spoon. Then mix in the crème fraîche, garlic, salt, pepper and freshly grated horseradish and heat through.