Beef fillet - marinade

Mix the ingredients for the marinade together. Place the trimmed fillet and let this

marinade for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Onion pickle

Bring the vinegar, sugar, salt, water, seeds, bay leaf and chilli to a boil and then

leave to cool. Add the onion slices to pickle and close in an airtight container.

Vegetables for serving

Clean the carrots and blanch in hot water until al dente. Blanch the pickling onions in hot water too, keep them whole. When done, drop into ice water and cut in half. Char the halves in a griddle pan to get the edges to a nice dark colour. Set the vegetables aside until service. Potatoes Par-boil the potatoes and skin when it’s cooled down to handle. Slice into rounds and set aside.

Heat the lamb fat in a roasting tin in the oven, until it’s runny. Be careful when removing the pan and place the potatoes in the heated lamb fat. Then cook the potatoes in the liquid fat in the oven at 180 °C until crispy on the side. Set this aside till service on a clean baking tray so it doesn’t go soft again.

Leeks

Place the leeks in a deep baking dish. Cover the leeks with cream, add the butter and the parmesan and bake in the oven at 180 °C until baked through, but the leeks are still al dente.

Parmesan crisps

Grate the parmesan into little mounds on a silpat or a baking sheet that’s been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Place in the oven at 180°C and bake until the cheese is melted and you have the disc shape formed. Remove from the silpat and let this cool on a cooling rack.

Pea puree

Place the frozen peas in boiling water and let it sit for 10 minutes, or until the peas are soft. Remove the peas and mash them in a food processor, adding salt to taste and the mint. Add the lemon juice as required and to taste. Work the puree through a sieve to make sure it is lump free. You might have to do this twice. Set aside to service and re-heat before plating.

Cooking the beef fillet

Sear the fillet in the pan until it reaches the desired colour. Place it in the oven, reserving the pan juices for the sauce. Cook to medium rare. Remove from the oven and let it rest. Slice just before serving into medallions.

Peppercorn sauce

Add the butter to the pan and let it melt. Add the peppercorns, reserved juices from the fillet pan, brandy and the brandy. Let this come to boil and let the alcohol cook away. Add the cream and bring the heat down to medium, let this simmer and reduce until the sauce is the right consistency.

To plate:

Place a smear of pea puree on the plate. Place the carrots on the edge of the pea puree, with the blanched and browned pickling onions next to it. Place the baked leek in the middle, follow with the onion pickle in the middle. Place 2 – 3 medallions on the pea puree. Add the lamb fat potatoes to the sides of the dish, drizzle with the sauce and finish off with the parmesan crisp.

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