Roast beef with fondant potato and balsamic reduction sauce
I rarely make a classic dinner with meat, sauce and potatoes, but this roast beef with fondant potato and balsamic reduction sauce is the exception. Because it is SO good.
I don’t normally share potato and sauce recipes on the blog, but I’ve promised my children to make an exception with this recipe. So here’s my version of roast beef with fondant potato and balsamic reduction sauce.
And apart from being absolutely fantastic, the recipe doesn’t really require a lot of cooking skills, and much of it can be prepared in advance, which makes it perfect for any festive occasion.
Ingredients
(Serves 6)
For the roast beef
1 kg filet of beef
Olive oil, salt, and pepper
For the sauce
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
Olive oil
1 tbsp honey
100 ml balsamic vinegar
200 ml red wine
200 ml meat stock
Fresh thyme
Corn starch
For the fondant potatoes
6 huge potatoes
Salt
Olive oil
1 tbsp butter
Preparation
Start by making the balsamic reduction sauce:
Peel and chop onion and garlic.
Fry it in a little olive oil.
Stir in honey and let it melt.
Now add the balsamic vinegar, while stirring vigorously.
When some of the acidity has evaporated , pour the red wine and a sprig of thyme into the sauce.
Let the sauce bubble for a few minutes.
Turn down the heat, add meat stock and let the sauce simmer for at least an hour, until most of the liquid has evaporated and you have a balsamic reduction with a very intense flavor.
Leave the sauce for later.
Cut the potatoes into cubes.
Boil them in lightly salted water for 5 minutes.
Coat a grill pan with olive oil, heat it up and fry the potatoes to make a nice crisscross pattern on two sides.
Leave the potatoes for later.
Rub the filet of beef with salt and pepper.
Put it in a greased oven-proof pan and roast at 225 C / 440 F for 15 minutes.
Turn down the heat to 160 C / 320 F and roast the beef for another 25 minutes if you want it medium to well done.
Cover the roast beef in aluminum foil and towels, while you add the finishing touches to the fondant potatoes and the sauce.
Melt butter in a saute pan, add the potatoes and let them simmer under lid, until they have warmed through.
Pass the balsamic reduction sauce through a sieve, turn up the heat and adjust the taste with salt, honey, butter and balsamic vinegar. Stir in a little corn starch, if you want a thicker sauce.
Slice up the meat and you are ready to serve roast beef with fondant potato and balsamic reduction sauce.
The meal becomes even better with glaced carrots or roasted roots and parsnip pure.
Potatoes still quite raw at the end. Next time I’ll try boiling them for 15mins, not 5, at the start.
Thank you for pointing this out. I guess the cooking time varies depending on what type and size of potatoes you use, and there are also individual preferences to be taken into account. The potatoes should be boiled until they are almost tender from the start.