Roast Scotch Fillet of Beef with Pesto & Mediterranean Vegetables

1 Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Trim away as much fat as possible from the fillet without breaking up the meat. Tie the meat with string to help keep it in shape during cooking. Grind over plenty of black pepper. Brown the meat in hot olive oil in a sturdy smallish dish – choosing one in which the meat fits smugly. Transfer to the oven and cook for 10 minutes, turn and cook the other side for 15 minutes, then turn meat again and cook for a further 7-15 minutes, or until done to your liking (as a guide, bouncy meat means rare meat, springy meat means medium-rare, firmish meat means medium, firm means well done).

2 Transfer the beef to a board and season generously with salt on both sides. Rest the beef for at least 10 minutes before slicing, or cool to room temperature (or cool, cover and refrigerate until required; the beef will keep well for 3 days). If serving at room temperature, you will be able to remove more of the fat; bring beef to room temperature before serving.

3 To prepare the vegetables, heat one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a medium frying pan (skillet) over medium-high heat and add the red pepper. Fry for 5 minutes, stirring twice, until a bit charred in parts, then transfer to a plate. Add one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to the pan, get it hot, then add the zucchini. Fry zucchini for 4-5 minutes, until brown in parts, but still crunchy. Transfer to the plate with the red pepper. Add one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to the pan, turn heat to low and add the eggplant. Cover with a lid and cook, stirring once or twice, for about 12-15 minutes, until the pieces colour, shrink and soften. Transfer to the plate, but keep all the vegetables separate, not in a mound, so they cool quickly and don’t soften any further. Season the vegetables with sea salt and pepper.

4 To make the pesto, but the basil in the bowl of a food processor with the pine nuts and garlic and a pinch of salt. Process until the nuts and basil are chopped. With the machine running, pour in the oil through the feed tube. Transfer the pesto to a bowl and stir in the parmesan. Cover the surface of the pesto with plastic food wrap and keep at room temperature until serving time (the pesto can be made a day or two in advance and stored refrigerated).

5 To serve, slice the beef thinly with a long-bladed sharp knife. Let any bloody juices run off, then transfer the meat to a serving platter. Gently toss the vegetables together and transfer to a bowl. Serve pesto in a small bowl alongside.

Recipe Notes

Scotch fillet is a flavoursome cut with a juicy texture, but it does have an annoying seam of fat running through it. Buy it from a good butcher and ask for one with the slimmest seam of fat. It’s a great cut to serve medium-rare, but it also holds its own when cooked to medium (many other cuts of beef dry out when cooked to medium) – especially useful when you’ve guests who don’t like rare beef. Serve the beef with Mediterranean vegetables, pesto, and steamed new potatoes.