Mushroom tapenade is a crowd pleaser. It’s delicious served on beef fillet, like in this recipe, but also on venison steak, exotic ostrich steak or hare. Or simply accompanying a chicken breast. It’ll lift a piece of fried or poached fish too. And best of all: served on a slice of bread with a glass of tipple!

Main course for 4 people

Ingredients

  • 250g / 9oz mushrooms
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 50ml / 2fl oz olive oil
  • 25g / 1oz pinenuts
  • 4 tbsp capers
  • 2 anchovy fillets
  • 25g / 1oz parsley
  • fine salt
  • black pepper
  • cayenne pepper
  • 4 beef fillets, 125g / 4 1/2oz each
  • 50g / 2oz / 1/2 stick butter

Preparation

  1. Clean the mushrooms and quarter them. Peel the garlic cloves.
  2. Place a wok on a high heat until it starts to smoke. Pour in a glug of oil and add the mushrooms. Mince the garlic over the pan and stir-fry everything briefly (about 2 minutes). Pour away any juices that have come out of the mushrooms.
  3. Toast the pinenuts in a dry frying pan on a high heat. Be careful, they will continue to brown once the pan has been taken off the heat.
  4. Put the mushroom mixture, pinenuts, capers, anchovy fillets, parsley and remaining olive oil in a food processor and whizz to a coarse paste. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Leave to cool.
  5. Take the beef out of the fridge half an hour before cooking. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  6. Heat up a frying pan on the hob. Melt ¼ of the butter in the pan. Fry the steaks on both sides till browned. Add the rest of the butter, let it brown then fry the steaks on a medium heat until they’re done to your liking; about 1-3 minutes depending on the thickness of the steaks.
  7. Place the steaks on warm plates. Stir through the tapenade then scoop a nice spoonful onto each steak. Serve with the rest of the tapenade on the side.

Delicious with grilled vegetables, like our grilled mushrooms.