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Recipes from Leiths How to Cook

Leiths How to Cook, by Claire Macdonald and Jenny Stringer, Quadrille (Hardie Grant) $59.95.

Dinner party stunner ... Leiths fillet of beef en croute.
Dinner party stunner ... Leiths fillet of beef en croute.Quadrille

Fillet of beef en croute

Serves 6–8

Fillet of beef from the thick end, about 1.3kg
Worcestershire sauce (optional)
1 tbsp olive oil
350g puff pastry
100g button or chestnut mushrooms
1 garlic clove
1/4 bunch of thyme
30g butter
100g chicken liver pâté
Beaten egg to glaze
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Leiths How To Cook.
Leiths How To Cook.Supplied
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1 Heat the oven to 230C / gas mark 8.

2 Trim the fillet and season well with salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce, if using. Tie the fillet with string at 2–3cm intervals to help hold its shape. Heat the oil in a roasting tin over a medium to high heat and brown the meat evenly on all sides, then transfer to the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Remove the fillet from the roasting tin, leave to cool and remove all the string.

3 Roll out one third of the pastry on a floured board until it is a little more than the length and width of the fillet. Place on a baking sheet, prick all over with a fork and bake for about 20 minutes until golden. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.

4 Wipe and finely chop the mushrooms, peel and crush the garlic and finely chop enough thyme to give you 1 tsp. Heat the butter in a frying pan over a medium to high heat and fry the mushrooms quickly to release and evaporate their liquid. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for 1 minute; the mixture should be dry. Allow the mushrooms to cool, then mix with the pate. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

5 Spread the mushroom and pate mixture over the cooled fillet and place it on the cooked pastry sheet. Cut away any pastry not covered by the fillet.

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6 Roll the remaining pastry on a floured board until large enough to cover the fillet easily. Lay it gently over the fillet. Lightly press the pastry to the fillet and seal the corners. Cut off any excess pastry at the corners; reserve the trimmings.

7 With a palette knife, lift the cooked pastry base and tuck the pastry neatly underneath it. Repeat with the other 3 sides. The pastry trimmings can be used to make decorations for the top. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg, stick the decorations on the pastry, then brush again with egg. If the pastry is very soft, chill the fillet in the fridge for 15 minutes before baking.

8 Bake in the middle of the oven for 20–30 minutes, or until the pastry is dark brown and shiny. The beef inside will be rare, so if you prefer a more well-done fillet, cook the fillet for longer in its first stage, without the pastry: for medium a further 10 minutes and for well-done, a further 15 minutes.

9 Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 15–20 minutes before carving. Note You can prepare this dish in advance up to the final baking stage. Loosely cover with cling film and place the baking tray in the fridge until ready to cook.

Variation
Steak Wellington: Use 4 fillet steaks, 170g each, seasoned, browned and cooled. Make half the quantity of mushroom pate mixture, divide it into 4 and spread it on top of each steak. Roll out the pastry to a 3mm thickness and divide it into 4 squares. Lay the steaks, mushroom mix down, on the pastry and bring the pastry around the beef to envelop it completely. Try to avoid too many overlaps, which will create a very thick layer of pastry that will not cook through completely. Trim off any excess pastry. Turn the parcels over and glaze with beaten egg. Chill for 30 minutes, then glaze again before baking in a 230C / gas 8 oven for 15 minutes or until the pastry is a deep golden colour. Rest for 10 minutes before serving.

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Using crepes: Traditionally, crepes are wrapped around the beef and pate before encasing in pastry to help to keep the pastry crisp. If you do this, wrap in a single layer of crepes, trimming as necessary to ensure minimal overlap.


Giant couscous with spice-roasted butternut, pine nuts and coriander

Serves 4
1 medium/large butternut squash
2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
125g giant couscous
15g butter
75g pine nuts
1 red chilli
4 spring onions
Bunch of coriander
Small bunch of flat-leaf parsley
Small bunch of mint
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the dressing

1 lemon
50ml olive oil
1 tsp sherry vinegar

1. Heat the oven to 220C / gas mark 7. Peel and deseed the squash and cut into rough 1.5cm cubes. Place in a roasting tin, drizzle over 2 tbsp of the oil andsprinkle over the spices and a little salt. Toss to coat evenly, then roast in the oven for about 30 minutes until tender and browned. Remove and set aside to cool.

2. To cook the couscous, bring 1 litre water to the boil in a medium saucepan with a pinch of salt. Add the couscous, bring back to a simmer and simmer for 15–18 minutes until tender, but with a notable bite. Drain well, place in a large bowl and stir in the butter and the remaining 1/2 tbsp oil to coat evenly, and set aside to cool.

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3. Place the pine nuts on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 5 minutes until pale golden, then remove and set aside to cool.

4. Halve, deseed and finely dice the chilli, finely slice the spring onions, including some of the green part, and coarsely chop enough coriander to give you 3 tbsp, and enough parsley and mint to give 1 tbsp each. Juice the lemon for the dressing.

5. Add the roasted butternut, pine nuts and herbs to the couscous.

6. For the dressing, mix the olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice together, season with salt and pepper and pour over the ingredients in the bowl. Toss well to ensure the dressing is evenly distributed. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.

Variation
Add 150g cubed, griddled haloumi at the end of the main recipe

Leiths: How to Cook, published by Quadrille, $59.95.

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