Jono & Jules do food & wine

Fillet of beef is not a cut we usually go for but we thought we’d try it as it seems fittingly festive and a bit extravagant. This is a pricey cut but it melts in the mouth and cuts out so beautifully.

Wine Suggestion: This is the type of dish that deserves something extra special to accompany it so we dipped into our cellar to revisit the Chateau Capbern Gasquetton 2009 and while still very youthful was a great match. Other Cabernet Sauvignon wines and blends would be our first choice, but if you’re looking for something different we also think a good cru from Beaujolais, like Domaine Rochette’s Morgon, would go alongside this just as well.

Spiced roast beef with red wine gravy – serves 6

• 2 tbsp mixed peppercorns
• 2 tbsp mustard seeds
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1.5kg fillet of beef
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp wholegrain or English mustard
• 3 red onions, skins left on, thickly sliced into rounds
• a few thyme leaves, to serve (only if you have them)

FOR THE GRAVY

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1½-2 tbsp cornflour
• 2 beef stock cubes
• 3-4 tbsp redcurrant jelly
• 400ml red wine

Up to 2 days beforehand you can crush the peppercorns and seeds together using a pestle and mortar. Brush the beef all over with the mustard, then roll in the peppercorn mixture to coat. Cover and chill.

Remove the beef from the fridge 2 hours before you want to start cooking it to allow it to come to room temperature.

Heat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.

Heat the oil in a pan big enough to hold the beef and brown it all over, seasoning with salt.

Scatter the onions over the base of a roasting tin and set the beef on top. Roast for 20 minutes for rare, 25 minutes for medium, and 35 minutes for well-done. You need your instincts a bit here – we like our beef rare but our fillet was kind of fat rather than long and thin and so it took 30 minutes to get it cooked just how we like it. If you have a meat thermometer this is where it excels, and they aren’t expensive so are a very useful addition to any kitchen.

Lift the beef out of the tin and rest on a warm platter, covered with foil, for about 30 minutes.

Put the roasting tin onto the hob and stir in the oil, cornflour and crumbled stock cubes. Stir in the jelly, then gradually add the wine and 400ml boiling water, scraping the sticky bits from the bottom of the tin. Simmer for 15 minutes until reduced a bit. Season, then sieve into a clean pan to keep warm, discard the onions.

Slice the beef, scatter over some thyme leaves (if using) and serve with the gravy.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)