Tournedos Lakmé

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Four 3-inch (7.5 cm) tartlet tins, or four wells of a sturdy muffin tin
• •Pie weights or dried beans
• •Small saucepan
• •Rimmed baking sheet
• •Heavy 12-inch (30 cm) skillet
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Kitchen twine
• •Warm oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the pâte brisée

   Combine the flour and pastry salt, then rub in the cold diced butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few pea-sized pieces remaining. Stir in the yolk and 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) ice water. Press the dough together without kneading; if dry flour remains, add the last water a teaspoon at a time. Flatten into a disc, wrap, and chill for 30 minutes. This pâte brisée, a short butter pastry, needs the rest so it rolls without shrinking.

2. 2

   Bake the tartlets

   Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Roll the dough about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick on the measured rolling flour and line four 3-inch (7.5 cm) tartlet tins, pressing the pastry firmly into the corners. Trim the rims, prick the bases, and chill for 10 minutes. Line with parchment, fill with pie weights, and bake for 12 minutes. Remove the weights and parchment, then bake for 5 to 7 minutes more, until crisp and evenly golden. Cool in the tins for 5 minutes before turning out. If a shell cracks, press a scrap of raw dough over the opening while the shell is hot and return it to the oven for 2 minutes. Ça se rattrape.

3. 3

   Cream the broad beans

   Blanch the broad beans in salted boiling water until just tender, about 2 minutes for fresh beans or 1 minute for frozen. Drain, cool briefly, and slip off any tough outer skins. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over gentle heat, add the beans and 1 1/2 tablespoons (22 ml / 22 g) of the cream, then simmer barely until the cream reduces to a close ivory glaze around the beans, about 3 minutes. Season lightly. Keep the remaining cream in reserve. If the glaze separates into oil and milk solids, take the pan off the heat and stir in that cold reserved cream until it comes together. Cover and hold warm over the lowest heat.

4. 4

   Grill the mushrooms

   Rewarm the empty tartlet shells for 3 minutes at 350°F (180°C), then remove them and change the oven to its hottest broiler setting. Set a rack about 6 inches (15 cm) below the heat. Brush the mushroom caps with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) clarified butter and season them. Broil gill-side up for about 3 minutes, turn cap-side up, and broil for another 2 to 4 minutes, until deeply browned but still juicy. Transfer them to a warm plate and cover loosely. A tight cover traps moisture and softens their browned surfaces.

5. 5

   Sear the tournedos

   Warm an oval serving platter with hot water, then dry it thoroughly. Pat the tournedos completely dry and season them on both sides only when the skillet is ready. Heat a heavy 12-inch (30 cm) skillet over high heat until properly hot, add the remaining clarified butter, and wait until it shimmers. Set in the tournedos with space between them and sear without moving for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Turn and cook for about 2 minutes more, spooning the hot butter over their sides. Pull them at 122 to 125°F (50 to 52°C) for a medium-rare finish after resting. If the meat remains grey after 90 seconds, the pan is too cool: lift it out, return the butter to a shimmer, and resume. Leaving lean fillet in a lukewarm pan to chase a crust only dries it.

6. 6

   Rest without cooling

   Transfer the tournedos to a warm plate and rest them for 5 minutes, loosely covered. Do not leave them in the skillet, where the retained heat will carry them past tenderness. There is no honest rescue for badly overcooked fillet, so the thermometer and this short rest do the guarding.

7. 7

   Build the crown

   While the meat rests, arrange the four warm tartlet shells in a loose crown on the warmed platter. If the broad-bean glaze has tightened, loosen it over gentle heat with a teaspoon of hot water. Spoon exactly 1 tablespoon of the creamed beans into each tartlet, set a tournedos squarely above, remove its string, and crown it with a grilled mushroom cap. Serve immediately, with no added stock sauce. The cream around the beans is the intended softness, and the crisp tartlet is its contrast. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask for center-cut tenderloin steaks of equal thickness, not tapered end pieces. Tie each around its circumference so it stays round and cooks evenly; the handsome shape here comes from the cut and the string, not from fussing at the plate.
• •Young frozen broad beans are an honest choice outside their short season. They were picked tender, and after blanching and peeling they keep their green character better than large, tired fresh beans.
• •Clarified butter is essential because the beef needs heat that ordinary butter's milk solids cannot tolerate. To make it, melt unsalted butter gently, skim the foam, and pour off the clear golden fat while leaving the milky sediment behind.
• •The original gives each tartlet one tablespoon of broad beans with cream. Keep that proportion. The beans support the tournedos and protect the pastry from its juices; they are not meant to become a vegetable bed.
• •Do not add demi-glace, mustard, herbs, or wine reduction. None belongs to this entry. A supple red Bordeaux or Cabernet Franc has enough freshness for the cream and enough structure for the beef.

Advance Preparation

• •The pâte brisée can be mixed and chilled a day ahead. Let it soften only until it can be rolled without cracking.
• •The tartlet shells can be blind-baked up to 8 hours ahead and kept uncovered at room temperature. Recrisp them for 3 minutes at 350°F (180°C) before service.
• •The broad beans can be blanched and peeled up to 6 hours ahead, then chilled. Finish them with butter and cream shortly before grilling the mushrooms.
• •Clean and trim the mushrooms earlier in the day, but grill them only when the tartlets and beans are ready. The tournedos must be the final component cooked.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 225g)