Now, here’s an all-time classic. My mom used to make this when I was growing up. Only, back then, fresh mushrooms were not available at the grocery store. I am so thankful that now, fresh mushrooms are so easy to find. Button mushrooms, oyster, portobello almost any variety is easy to purchase from your local fruit shop. A great sauce to your tenderloin can be the star of your dinner menu and this one is a classic. What makes this special, is «a shot» of sweet wine in the sauce (the cypriot wine «Koumantaria» is perfect for this), just before serving. A boozy sauce for over eighteens.

Ingredients for the sauce

• 200 grams fresh button mushrooms, sliced
• 100 grams unsalted butter, divided
• 1 ½ Tbs flour
• ½ red onion, finely chopped
• 3 gralic cloves, cryshed
• 1 cup red wine
• ½ cup brandy
• ¾ cup «Koumantaria» or other sweet red wine
• 1 cup beef broth (or 1 beef stock cube disolved in one cup boiling water)
• 2 thyme sprigs
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 4 Tbs cream

 For the beef

• One whole beef tenderloin, tied neatly with kitchen twine (ask your butcher to do this for you)
• A little olive oil for brushing the meat
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 220 C. Brush fillet all over with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake for 30 minutes for medium rare. Leave to stand for 30 minutes, covered loosely with foil.

Make the sauce. In a small frying pan, melt 50 grams of the butter over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook stirring until flour is lightly colored and fragrant. Leave aside until needed.

In a saucepan melt the remaining 50 grams of butter. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally until they get a nice color. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. In the same saucepan, add the onion and garlic. Season with salt and cook stirring occasionally until onion is soft.

Put the mushrooms back in the saucepan and pour in the wine, brandy, ½ cup “koumantaria” (keep the rest for serving), beef broth, thyme and black pepper. Finally add the butter/flour mixture and mix well. Bring sauce to a boil, lower the heat and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened. Taste sauce and add salt if needed. Take saucepan off the heat and stir in the cream. Mix well and add the rest of the “koumantaria” (1/4 cup). Slice the beef and serve with the sauce.