Beef Tenderloin Medallions in Mushroom Cream
Beef tenderloin medallions in a cream sauce of mushrooms and white wine — the dish for the evening when it has to look like something. Restaurant quality at home, and quick to make.
Two details decide the result and both are about temperature. The meat has to be at room temperature before it goes into the pan: straight from the fridge it cooks through on the outside while the inside is still raw. And after cooking it rests for 3 minutes, so the juices redistribute — cut immediately, they run onto the board instead of staying in the meat.
The mushrooms are fried until their water has completely evaporated. Before that there is no browning, only grey mushrooms.
Ingredients
- 1 piece of beef tenderloin, about 600-700 g, cut into 3 cm medallions
- 250 g fresh button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 scallion (spring onion), white part only, chopped
- 100 ml dry white wine
- 200 ml pouring cream
- 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt, freshly ground black pepper and fresh thyme
Method
- 1
Season the medallions. It is essential that they are at room temperature before they meet the heat, so they cook evenly.
- 2
Heat the butter and the oil in a pan over high heat. Sear the medallions for 3 to 4 minutes a side so they are browned outside and juicy inside (rare to medium). Take them out and set aside on a covered plate.
- 3
In the same pan, add the white part of the scallion and the sliced mushrooms. Cook them until they are well browned and have lost their water.
- 4
Pour in the white wine and scrape the base of the pan to recover the flavour from the searing. When the wine has reduced by half, turn the heat down and add the cream and the thyme. Cook gently until the sauce thickens.
- 5
Return the medallions to the pan just to coat them in the sauce for 1 minute. Take them out, put them on a board and let them rest for 3 minutes before plating. That rest lets the juices redistribute evenly through the piece. Only then serve, with the sauce very hot over the top.