Marvin’s Five Episode 7: Tarragon’s Signature Beef Strudel 🥩

5 years ago

By Kristina Cassar Dowling

Marvin’s Five Episode 7: Tarragon’s Signature Beef Strudel 🥩

Kitchen at the ready, ingredients in full supply, Chef Marvin Gauci takes centre stage in our Fino kitchen to transform 5 simple ingredients into 1 outstanding dish. Perfected over the years, the Chef Patron of Tarragon in St Paul’s Bay unveils the origins of a restaurant classic: Tarragon’s Signature Beef Strudel. 🏆

All ingredients for this dish can be ordered for delivery from Arkadia supermarket through the Wolt app. As simple as that! And the dish is not all that hard to execute either - follow our recipe or watch the full episode to learn how to recreate this beef strudel at home. 👩‍🍳

Recipe

beef strudel by marvin gauci on FoodBlog's Marvin's Five

In frame: the classic Beef Strudel - a Tarragon icon.

Ingredients

Apart from the basic ingredients of cooking oil, olive oil, salt, pepper, chilli, garlic and butter*. The following 5 ingredients will be needed for this dish.

1 pkt puff pastry, defrosted
400g beef ribeye, chopped
1 cup Shiraz
2tbs sweet chilli sauce
½ white onion, chopped

*Please note that garlic and cooking oil were not used in this Episode’s dish.

Method

1. Start off by preheating your oven to 180°C. This way your pastry will gradually brown and cook all the way through without getting burned - and most importantly, no soggy bits! 👌

Oven being preheated at 185 degrees Celsius on FoodBlog's Marvin's Five

Pre-heat your oven folks... thank us later.

2. Cut your defrosted puff pastry into quarters, these will be used to create a vessel for your beef mixture. Set them aside.

Marvin Gauci cutting pastry into sizable moulds on FoodBlog's Marvin's Five

Cut into quads for the perfect pastry bowl.

3. Your next step is very important. You need to grease a mould with butter to make sure your strudel cups will not stick to their mould. Chef Marvin uses regular coffee cups for this - get creative; but be sure your moulds are oven safe. 🌡️

Marvin Gauci greasing mold with kerrygold butter on FoodBlog's Marvin's Five

You know how we feel about butter... but this time it's a genuine necessity.

4. Once your moulds are nicely buttered, lay a pastry quarter on each of them and place on a tray, straight into your pre-heated oven. These will need about 5 minutes in the oven.

Marivn gauci places cut pastry into greeased molds on FoodBlog's Marvin's Five

Pastry bowls, ready for the heat.

5. Next, heat a pan on medium heat. And add oil once it reaches temperature. 🔥

Oil heating up in pan on FoodbBlog's Marvin's Five

Heat your pan and oil for the ultimate sizzle soundtrack... and flavour pump!

6. Finely chop ½ a white onion into little cubes. Set aside and chop your ribeye until the oil in your pan gets hot.

Marvin Gauci finely chopping onions on FoodBlog's Marvin's Five

Finely chop your onion for a swarm of flavour with a subtle bite.

7. When chopping your meat, be sure to remove all the fatty parts including the centre fat and gristle. These parts take longer to cook, so it’s best to remove them for this dish. 🥩

Marvin Gauci cutting up steak into cubes on FoodBlog's Marvin's Five

When grilling, a ribeye's fatty bits are golden - but for this dish you'd better remove them.

8. When your oil is hot, throw in the onions and let them cook down gently before adding the chopped ribeye. All you need to do is seal the meat to secure all the flavours.

Onions caramelising in a hot pan on FoodBlog's Marvin's Five

Brown your onions to release all their sweet goodness.

9. Once your meat is sealed, salt your pan, add some fresh pepper and dried chill. Add about 1-2tbs of sweet chilli sauce. Give your pan a good toss and allow to cook for about 1-2 minutes. ⏰

Marvin Gauci adding sweet chilli sauce into the beef and onion mixture on FoodBlog's Marvin's Five

There's the FoodBlog twist - captured in action.

10. Next, add the wine and let it simmer and reduce. This will bring out the sweetness in the dish and pack in a lot more robust flavours. 🍷

Marvin Gauci adding red wine to the meat onion and sweet chilli mixture on FoodBlog's Marvin's Five

Use wine to deglaze your pan and create a thick, luscious sauce.

11. Take your pastry out of the oven and remove the moulds from the golden brown puff you’ve just baked. Place it on your serving plate and press down on the hollow section to create a flat pastry bottom.

Marvin Gauci flattens pastry mould to balance on a plate on Foodblog's Marvin's Five

Flatten your mould to create an edible bowl.

12. All that’s left to do now is remove your pan off the heat and scoop in all that spicy meaty goodness into your pastry bowl. Add in as much or as little sauce as you like - we’d always opt for more!