contributed by Judy Hom

Instant Beef Tenderloin Stew

From Fast Food My Way by Jacques Pepin

I tried this recipe out during the Christmas holiday and was impressed with how easy it is to cook and how delicious it tastes. I have made this recipe twice. I daresay that this is the quickest stew that I have ever made! It takes about 30 minutes instead of hours. The recipe is for 4 servings.

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon good olive oil
  • 1 ½ cups diced potato (½ inch). I used large russet potatoes. Keep your potatoes immersed in water until ready to use
  • 1 cup baby carrots (abut 4 ounces). I used the snacking baby carrots and sliced them in half diagonally
  • 1 cup white button mushrooms (about 2 ounces). Wash your mushrooms just before use.
  • 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
  • ½ cup baby peas, fresh or frozen. I used frozen peas.
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 pound beef tenderloin, trimmed of all fat and cut into 1 ½ inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Beef tenderloin is also known as filet mignon. At $22/pound, it is very pricey but it is oh so good. Jacques says that New York strip streak, sirloin tips, and skirt steak are also tender enough to use. I made this recipe a second time with flank steak. The flank steak was noticeably less tender than the tenderloin but still quite good.
  • 2 tablespoons chicken stock or red wine to deglaze the skillet for au jus

Instructions: Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms. Cook until the vegetables until tender and browned – about 8 minutes. Be sure to try out the potatoes and carrots to make sure they are soft enough. Add garlic, peas, and ¼ teaspoon of salt and cook for 1 minute. Set aside, covered, while you cook the steak.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in another skillet over medium-high heat until it is very hot but not smoking. Add meat to the skillet in one layer – don’t crowd the meat. Saute, turning, for 2 to 3 minutes, until the meat is browned on all sides. Do not overcook the steak. Transfer to a platter. Add the red wine or stock to deglaze the skillet. Boil for 10 seconds. Arrange the meat, vegetables, and juices on serving plate or 4 dinner plates. Serve immediately.

Extending the leftovers: If I had too much meat leftover, I cooked up a fresh batch of vegetables and added it to the meat. if I had too many veggies leftover, I cooked up a new batch of meat and added it to the veggies. I had delicious stew for over a week. 

I hope that you will try this out. You can find more information about this recipe by googling “Jacques Pepin Beef Tenderloin Stew”.