Beef Fillet with Pears and Red Wine

This is a retro combination popular in the '80s, but good food combinations never really go out of style. This recipe serves 4, but works equally well for a bigger fillet and double the quantity of ingredients to serve 8.

2 cups good quality red wine
4T wholegrain mustard
2 red onions, chopped
4T red current jelly
4T mustard
1 bay leaf
2 firm pears, peeled and cut into quarters
250g crumbled blue cheese
olive oil for frying

Place the red wine in a pot together with the onion, bay leaf, honey and red currant jelly. Bring to the boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the pears and poach them for 15 minutes. Remove the pears from the liquid and set them aside. Place the liquid back on the stove and reduce by half. Strain and place in a jug to serve with the fillet.
Rub the mustard over the fillet, season with salt and pepper, and brown in olive oil. Cook in a preheated oven at 200C for 15 minutes for medium rare. I like to place the fillet on top of 3 sprigs of rosemary while baking.
Slice the beef and arrange on a platter together with the pears, blue cheese and a jug of sauce and a few sprigs of rosemary to decorate.
Serve with roast potatoes and green beans.