Blueberry Filet Mignon

Right before law school, my husband backpacked through Europe with some friends. One night in Florence, they had an amazing blueberry steak in a local restaurant called Acqua al 2. It was so good, he’s often said he would return to Florence just for that dish! And he’s not the only one. I went in search of the recipe and there were a bunch of people online looking for a copycat recipe. I found one page that purported to be the actual recipe from the restaurant, but it used ketchup, flour, mustard, vinegar, orange juice… it just sounded like it would taste like a blueberry barbecue sauce and I didn’t want to go in that direction. Also, ketchup on an expensive cut of steak is a sin. 😀 What I came up with is a light, sweet blueberry sauce that has an incredible depth of flavor because of the wine reduction and spices. It pairs beautifully with the meat and brought my husband right back to Florence.

Blueberry Filet Mignon

 

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Prep time

2 mins

Cook time

12 mins

Total time

14 mins

 

Juicy, rare filet mignon with a sweet-and-savory blueberry sauce similar to the dish Fileno al Mirtilio served at Acqua al 2 in Florence, Italy.

Author: Tekesha @ EatMoreFoodProject

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 1 lb filet mignon (2 pieces, 1-inch thick)
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp oil, divided
• 1 shallot, sliced thin
• 1 cup red wine (I used a red zinfandel)
• 6 oz fresh blueberries
• Juice and zest of ½ lemon
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
• 1 tbsp rubbed sage
• 4 tbsp brown sugar splenda

Instructions

1. Pour a tablespoon of oil into a pan and heat on high heat until it is smoking hot.
2. Salt and pepper each filet and grill them in the hot oil for 2 minutes on each side.
3. Remove from pan and let rest on a plate.
4. Set out all of the blueberry sauce ingredients.
5. Sauté the shallots in a tablespoon of oil until translucent.
6. Add the red wine and bring to a boil.
7. Boil for approximately 2 minutes on high heat, until wine is reduced by half.
8. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and sauté on medium heat 5 minutes, using the back of your spoon to mash up some of the blueberries as they cook.

Notes

The nutrition information includes the amount for the entire batch of sauce, even though you won’t come close to using all of it for just 2 steaks.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 803 Fat: 29 Saturated fat: 8 Carbohydrates: 42 Sugar: 34 Sodium: 143 Fiber: 3 Protein: 65 Cholesterol: 150

3.2.2929

• 1 lb filet mignon (2 pieces, 1-inch thick)
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp oil, divided
• 1 shallot, sliced thin
• 1 cup red wine (I used a red zinfandel)
• 6 oz fresh blueberries
• Juice and zest of ½ lemon
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
• 1 tbsp rubbed sage
• 4 tbsp brown sugar splenda

Pour a tablespoon of oil into a pan and heat on high heat until it is smoking hot. Use an oil with a high smoking point, like olive oil (not extra virgin olive oil).

Salt and pepper each filet.

Grill them in the hot oil for 2 minutes on each side.

I like my steak rare, so I stop right here and just let the meat rest on a plate. If you like your steak medium, remove it from the pan and place it in a hot oven (about 400 degrees) for 5-10 minutes before letting it rest. Likewise, if your filet is thicker, you will need to place it in a hot oven for 5-10 minutes to achieve rare meat and even longer for medium doneness.

The reason for transferring the meat to the oven to continue cooking is so that you don’t burn or overcook the outside of the steak in a hot skillet while you are waiting for the center of the meat to reach the level of doneness you prefer.

PRO TIP: When you are resting your steak, don’t rest it in the same pan or on the baking sheet you use while cooking it. When I first started cooking, I made this mistake. I just shut off the stove and let my meat rest in the hot skillet, lol. Your meat will continue to cook from the residual heat.

Set out all of the blueberry sauce ingredients.

Sauté the shallots in a tablespoon of oil until translucent.

Add the red wine and bring to a boil.

Boil for approximately 2 minutes on high heat, until wine is reduced by half.

Add the remaining sauce ingredients.

Sauté on medium heat 5 minutes, using the back of your spoon to mash up some of the blueberries as they cook. You should be left with a glossy, thick sauce with chunks of blueberries.

Look at that tender, rare steak! The more expensive the cut of meat, the more rare I prefer to eat it.

I like to drizzle a spoonful of the sauce around the sides…

And then drizzle a line of blueberries down the center.

That way you can still see the gorgeous steak under the sauce.

It’s a plate of decadent perfection.

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