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Small Filets of Beef with Artichokes

Small beef filets served with artichokes, bread soaked in gravy, topped with Béarnaise sauce.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Beef and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,032 recipes. Both carry 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which smells popcorn, roasted. The science ↓

Small Filets of Beef with Artichokes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the beef

  1. Cut slices ½ inch thick from the fine end of the filet of beef, ensuring they are even in size.

  2. Pound the slices with a few quick strokes and reshape them evenly.

  3. Cut slices of stale bread to match the size of the filets, one for each.

Cook and assemble

  1. Fry the bread lightly on both sides and place on a hot dish.

  2. Baste the bread with rich brown gravy and let it soak in.

  3. Heat the undersides of the artichokes, one for each filet.

  4. Broil the filets over a quick, bright fire, turning often until cooked.

  5. Place one filet on each croûton and moisten with the meat gravy.

  6. Top each filet with an artichoke and fill the cup with Béarnaise sauce.

  7. Serve immediately.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Beef + breadtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

  2. Bread + artichoketop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together175 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  3. Artichoke + saucetop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together462 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Beef + artichoketop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together140 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  5. Bread + saucetop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together4,934 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Filet of beef
Forms the main protein, cooked quickly so it stays tender and juicy inside.
Stale bread
Fried and soaked in gravy, it forms a sturdy base that absorbs juices.
Rich brown gravy
Adds moisture and savory meaty flavor to the bread and beef.
Artichokes
Add a mild, slightly nutty flavor and a contrasting tender texture on top.
Béarnaise sauce
Its egg-and-butter emulsion adds richness and fat to balance the lean beef.

The step that matters

Broil the filets over a quick, bright fire, turning often until cooked.. A very hot fire sears the outside quickly, creating browning and flavor while the interior stays juicy. Turning often promotes even cooking and prevents the surface from burning before the center is done.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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