Fillet of Beef with Mashed Potatoes

Steak au Pouvre is a French version using black pepper and cream for its sauce. I made my own version using a light sherry for a sauce. My mashed potatoes are to die for! Here it is:


Slice an inch of fillet of beef and apply generous amounts of course ground pepper on both sides and set aside. In a pan, pour 1/3 cup of regular olive oil and cook around 6 cloves of unpeeled garlic for 5 minutes. Place the garlic aside and saute some chopped carrots and peas with a tablespoon of butter for 2 to 3 minutes.


In a pot, boil a couple of peeled potatoes until soft. Rinse off the water and mash the potatoes along with the peeled cooked garlic. Add a tablespoon of butter and 1/3 cup of milk until you get the right consistency while adding some salt to taste.


Using the same pan, set the vegetables aside and bring the pan to high heat. Cook the fillets 2 to3 minutes on each side and sprinkle a pinch of salt and set aside to rest. Deglaze the pan with 1/3 cup sherry and continue stirring until a thick reduction is obtained.


Place a couple of spoonfuls of the mashed potatoes on a plate and layer the fillet on top. Arrange the vegetables around and pour the sauce reduction on the fillet and serve.