Recipe Background
Holiday Magic Beef Tarts really are magic! They enchant you as you are making them and will bewitch anyone who you share them with! Just look at them! A buttery, flaky puff pastry filled with a rich, hearty, beefy mushroom sauce and layered with a savory slice of tender and beautifully seared tenderloin. Drizzled with a homemade red wine sauce that heightens every flavor on the plate, you'll be spellbound as you dig into this holiday sensation. Holiday Magic Beef Tarts are like you teleported to a high-class restaurant without leaving the kitchen... if that isn't magic, what is?
Holiday Magic Beef Tarts really are magic! They enchant you as you are making them and will bewitch anyone who you share them with! Just look at them! A buttery, flaky puff pastry filled with a rich, hearty, beefy mushroom sauce and layered with a savory slice of tender and beautifully seared tenderloin. Drizzled with a homemade red wine sauce that heightens every flavor on the plate, you'll be spellbound as you dig into this holiday sensation. Holiday Magic Beef Tarts are like you teleported to a high-class restaurant without leaving the kitchen... if that isn't magic, what is?
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth
- 1/4 cup Madeira wine
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
For the tarts:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon shallots minced
- 4 ounces cremini mushrooms washed, dried, and roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon Madeira wine
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves minced
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry defrosted overnight in the refrigerator
- 3 tablespoons pâté mousse room temperature
- 1 egg optional, beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for the egg wash
For the beef:
- 2 (4-6-ounce) beef tenderloin filets
- 1 teaspoon olive oil divided
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
For finishing:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter cold and diced
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a small saucepan, bring the beef broth and 1/4 cup of the Madeira wine to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Continue to simmer the sauce mixture until it is reduced to 1 cup, about 15-20 minutes.
- Season the sauce mixture to taste with the salt and the pepper, then set aside.
- Heat the butter in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 3-5 minutes.
- Stir the mushrooms into the shallot mixture and increase the heat to medium-high.
- Cook, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid given off by the mushrooms has evaporated, about 7-10 minutes.
- Add the cream, the remaining wine, the salt, and the pepper to the mushroom mixture and cook until it is mostly dry, about 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer the skillet from the heat and stir in the thyme.
- Cut the puff pastry in half, then cut one of the halves again to make two small squares of puff pastry. Save the other half for another use.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the puff pastry squares on it.
- With the tip of a sharp knife, lightly score a border on the puff pastry squares 1/2-inch from the edges, being careful not to cut through the pastry.
- Spread an even amount of the pâté mousse on each of the puff pastry squares up to the scored border line.
- Spread the mushroom mixture on top of the pâté mousse equally.
- Brush the borders of the puff pastries with the egg wash.
- Bake until the pastry is lightly browned and the sides have puffed up, about 15-20 minutes.
- Let the pastries cool.
- Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F.
- Rub the tenderloins with 1/2 teaspoon of the oil and season them generously with the salt and the pepper.
- Heat an oven-proof skillet (preferably cast iron) over high heat on the stovetop until very hot, about 3 minutes.
- Place the steaks in the skillet and cook until well browned on one side, about 3 minutes.
- Turn the steaks and sear on the other side until a brown jacket forms, about 3 minutes. Sear the edges of the steak.
- Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast until the internal temperature is 130-135 degrees F internally, about 7-9 minutes.
- Transfer the steaks to a cutting board and tent them loosely with foil, letting them rest for about 5 minutes.
- Re-warm the sauce over low heat on the stove-top.
- Whisk the butter into the sauce until incorporated.
- Slice the beef against the grain, placing the slices on top of each tart.
- Drizzle the tarts with a little of the sauce, reserving the rest for serving.
- Serve.
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