Stuart Gillies is the head chef of the Boxwood Café, London.
INGREDIENTS
(Serves 4)
- 2 centre cut fillets of beef
- 6 quail's eggs
- 1 carrot, diced finely
- ¼ celeriac, diced finely
- ½ red onion, diced finely
- 1 globe artichoke heart, cooked and diced finely
- ½ bunch of chives, chopped finely
- 1 clove of garlic, split in half
- Thyme
- Sherry vinegar
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt & black pepper
METHOD
Trim each fillet well and roll it tightly in cling film until it forms a baton. Tie the ends up, place the batons in the freezer until they are firm but not frozen - approximately 1-2 hours - then remove them from the freezer and take off all the cling film.
Slice thinly then lay directly on a serving plate in a square pattern; approximately nine slices per plate. Repeat as quickly as possible until each fillet is sliced. Cover each plate with cling film and store in the fridge.
Heat the olive oil in a large pan, and cook the onion, carrot and celeriac with the garlic and thyme to the halfway stage, without colour.
Add the sherry vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Take off the heat and cool straight away.
Next, heat a pan of water to boil, place the quail's eggs into a vegetable basket, and drop into the water for 2 minutes and 20 seconds. Take them out and place them straight into iced water. Once they are cold, peel them and slice in half.
To serve, mix the artichoke with the rest of the vegetables and the chives. Season the beef with fresh black pepper and Maldon sea salt. Spread 1 dessert spoon of vegetables evenly across the slices of beef fillet. Place three egg halves on each dish, season them with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.