Serves 6-8

One of my favourite beef dishes of all time. The tomato and tarragon dressing is good with chicken but amazing with tender beef fillet. Sear the beef in the morning, slice thinly and spoon over the dressing. Leave it to marinate for a few hours at room temperature – perfect for Christmas when fridge space can be very precious. Do make sure you get really good quality beef, as it’s served rare.

25g unsalted butter, plus extra for cooking
6 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
6 tbsp tomato ketchup
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
Few dashes of Tabasco
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
2 banana shallots, peeled and chopped
3 tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
Bunch of tarragon, leaves chopped
2x 650g (evenly sized) beef fillets

1 Melt the butter in a pan and add the onions. Cook slowly over very low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and caramelised. Add the sherry vinegar and cook for 10 more minutes, until the vinegar has been cooked off. Season well and leave to cool.

2 In a large bowl, combine the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, Tabasco, lemon zest and juice, vinegar, oil and seasoning to taste. Stir in the shallots, tomatoes and tarragon. Set aside.

3 Heat a frying pan over moderate heat with a little olive oil. Season the fillets with salt and pepper, then add to the pan. Sear the beef for 2-21ž2 minutes each side until browned. Add a knob of butter to the pan to finish off cooking the sides.
4 Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing thinly on the diagonal. Divide the caramelised onions among serving plates and arrange the beef slices on top. Spoon over the tomato tarragon dressing and leave to marinate. Serve at room temperature.

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