Filet of Beef with Two Marinades and Hungarian Kohlrabi Soup
Although this section of my website is called Roving and Recipes, there is clearly not much roving going on at the moment, However, we can still travel in our thoughts and dreams, visit friends in far off lands at least in our imaginations, and think of nice things to eat and drink in their company. So, while I am housebound in California, I’ve let my mind wander across to Europe to compose a dinner from several different countries with recipes given by good friends whom I wish I could see in person.
Apéritif Inspired from Scotland
Let’s begin with an aperitif from Scotland.
We are lucky enough still to have a flat in Glasgow which we don’t get to visit nearly as much as we would like. I’ve not been there since Hogmanay, which is what the Scots call New Year and there’s not much chance of getting there for months to come.
Old Fashioned with a Scottish Twist
A little while ago, I came across a recipe for an Old Fashioned cocktail but one with a Scottish twist.
2oz of Scottish Whisky
1 generous spoonful of Seville Orange Marmalade (Dundee for preference)
3 Dashes of Aztec Chocolate Bitters
Ice
Directions
Since it is heresy to put ice in a single malt Scotch, a crime equivalent to shouting Encore! at the end of the St. Matthew Passion, please use a blended whisky.
Stir the marmalade and whisky together. Add some ice cubes and stir again. Add the bitters before adding more ice if desired. Serve with a twist of orange peel (candied peel is excellent here).
It’s delicious and I can imagine us drinking it sitting either side of the inglenook fireplace in our flat on a rainy evening (of which there are plenty).
Our flat in Glasgow, Scotland
Soup Inspired from Hungary
Let’s begin our dinner with soup for which we must travel to Hungary.
I love kohlrabi and several times there I have had the most delicious dishes made from them. Several of my favourites were made by Klári, the wife of my recording producer in Budapest, András Székely.
Recording producer András Székely
Kalarábéleves
(Hungarian Kohlrabi Soup)
1 tbsp butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
3 1/2 cups chicken broth (or veg broth to make it vegetarian)
1 cup water
1 pound kohlrabi with leaves
1 sweet potato or 1 floury potato
1 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Directions
Sauté the onion in large skillet with 1 Tbsp butter for 1 minute. Add garlic and carrots. Cook, covered, for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup chicken broth and continue to cook covered for 10 minutes. Pour into a big saucepan.
Trim, peel, and dice the kohlrabi. Peel and dice the (sweet) potato.
Add the remaining 2 1/2 cups chicken broth, water, diced kohlrabi & leaves, and the diced (sweet) potato. Cook until tender. I prefer to purée everything at this point.
In a small saucepan, melt 2 Tbsp butter. Stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in some hot soup. Whisk mixture together then pour back into the rest of the soup. Cook until slightly thickened, 10 minutes. Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste.
I like to add a spoonful of sour cream to each bowl and a sprinkle of sweet paprika.
Let us hope that you are a truthful person for, as Beethoven remarked, “Anyone who tells a lie has not pure heart, and cannot make good soup.”
Now let us fly up to the west coast of Sweden to visit our friend Margareta Waymouth. In spite of her British last name, she is from an old Swedish family and, although she lives in London for much of the year, she spends a good deal of the summer in her beautiful house on one of the myriad of islands above Gothenburg. Several years ago, after some concerts with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, we were driven up to stay with her for a few days in a place I can only describe as paradise. The house is just yards from the sea and the sunsets have to be seen to be believed. Here are a couple of photos to give you an idea of how lovely it is.
Margareta’s home in Sweden
Main Course Inspired from Sweden
While we were staying, Margareta cooked this wonderful Beef Filet for us and members of her family. She kindly parted with the recipe, which is definitely for a special occasion:
FILET OF BEEF WITH 2 MARINADES
Serves 6
800g filet of beef (about 1.8 pounds)
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
MARINADE 1
2 tbsps Soy sauce
1 tbsp Hoisin sauce
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1tsp sugar
MARINADE 2
1 dl white wine vinegar (a decilitre is a little under ½ cup)
½ dl water
2 dl olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp course ground black pepper
2 chopped cloves of garlic
Approx. 2-3 dl of chopped parsley
½ dl of chopped capers
Directions
Two days before serving the dish mix marinade no 1. Put the meat in a double plastic bag together with the marinade. Place in fridge overnight.
Next day set oven to 150C. Pat the meat dry and brown quickly. Put into oven for about 30 minutes. If a thermometer is used with the meat it should reach 55C. It is likely that 60-65 minutes in the oven is required depending how pink you want it. Wrap in foil and cool in fridge.
Mix marinade no 2. Cut the filet in 1cm thin slices and place in a bowl. Pour the marinade over and cover. Leave in fridge till serving. Bring back to room temperature for a summer dinner. Serve warm at other times of the year. Serve on a dish and pour the marinade over. Decorate with a few parsley leaves.
Dessert Inspired from Göttingen, Germany
I hope that I have saved a little room for dessert. So let us take a trip down to Göttingen in Germany, a place that I know very well from my years as Artistic Director of the International Handel Festival which should have celebrated its hundredth anniversary last May. One of my favourite friends there was Helga Eichele-Mattheson who sadly passed away in 2019. She was a wonderful, kind, generous and very smart person who loved music and made a point of getting to know those of us who performed at the festival. We often dined together both in Göttingen and other cities including Boston where she came to see the Mark Morris Dance Group’s splendid production of Acis and Galatea. One of her closest musical friends was Drew Minter, the peerless countertenor, who often sang in Göttingen and who also directed several operas during my tenure there. Here is a photo of Drew and Helga which was taken at one of the receptions in the Town Hall.
Drew Minter and Helga Eichele-Mattheson at a Göttingen reception in the Rathaus
Helga sent me a recipe for a summer dessert which she named ‘Drew’s Handel Delight’. It serves between six and eight people.
In Germany one can buy meringue bark in the shops but here one must make one’s own. Personally, I like to put almonds in it.
Drew’s handel delight
For a couple of sheets of bark:
1/3 cup of fine granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 large egg whites at room temperature
A pinch of sea salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 teaspoons of toasted sliced almonds
Directions
Preheat oven to 225°.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together sugar and cornstarch; set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat egg whites and salt with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form (tips curl).
Gradually add sugar mixture to the egg whites, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on medium-high. Once all the sugar has been added, increase speed to high; beat until stiff and glossy. Beat in vanilla.
Spread meringue onto the prepared baking sheet to about 1/4-inch thickness (12x8-inch rectangle). Sprinkle with sliced almonds.
Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until meringue is dry and crisp. Let it cool completely on baking sheet on a wire rack. Break into pieces. Store in an airtight container at room temperature in a very cool, dry place for up to 1 week.
Take about half of the broken pieces of the bark and put them in a bowl. Cover generously with fresh raspberries. Make some whipped cream with added vanilla sugar. Put on top of the raspberries and the add the rest of the meringue bark over the cream.
As Helga wrote at the bottom of the recipe:
GUTEN APPETIT!
With Helga Eichele-Mattheson