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Recipe Detail Page
Macadamia Nut Stuffed Beef Olives
Holiday 2005
This curious name for thin slices of meat wrapped around a stuffing dates from medieval times. Often made with veal escalopes they can be dry. Beef makes a better alternative. Ask your butcher to cut and pound the beef slices for you.
Serves 4
2 tbsp (25 mL) unsalted butter
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 garlic clove, minced
½ cup (125 mL) toasted macadamia nuts, chopped
8 plump dried apricots, diced
3 tbsp (45 mL) chopped parsley
2 tsp (10 mL) fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (250 mL) fresh bread crumbs
¾ cup (175 mL) beef stock
4 slices beef rump (about 3 ½ to 4 oz/105 to125 g each), pounded thin
4 slices bacon
1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil
½ cup (125 mL) dry red wine
1 tsp (5 mL) arrowroot or cornstarch
1 tbsp (15 mL) Cognac
1. In a frying pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook until it softens but do not allow to colour. Add the minced garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add the nuts, apricots, parsley, 1 tsp (5 mL) of the thyme leaves and season with ½ tsp (2 mL) salt and pepper. Add the crumbs and ¼ cup (50 mL) stock and mix well.
2. Place the pounded slices of beef on the counter and season each piece with salt and pepper. Top them with a bacon slice, then divide the stuffing between them. Fold the edges of the beef over the stuffing to make neat packages and then tie them up with string. Place them on a plate and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
4. In a frying pan over medium-high heat, add the oil and quickly brown the beef packages on all sides. Transfer them to a baking dish, and then discard any fat from the pan. Add the wine to the frying pan and deglaze the pan by scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. Add the remaining stock and thyme leaves and bring to a boil, then pour the liquid over the beef.
5. Cover the beef dish with aluminum foil and place in oven for 30 minutes. Transfer the meat to a platter and keep warm, loosely covered with aluminum foil. Strain the sauce into a saucepan; mix the arrowroot with the Cognac and whisk into sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil, whisking continuously.
6. Remove the strings from the beef, place on plates and pour over the sauce. Serve with pasta or mashed potatoes.
Serves 4
