Beef Tenderloin in tomato sauce is a perfect dish for hosting guests. I have two important criteria for dishes when hosting. First, the dish should feel like you've put effort into it, making your guest feel special. Second, it should be something you can prepare ahead of time and keep warm.




Dishes that need to be served immediately after cooking stress me out. Unfortunately, no guest ever arrives at the exact time they say they will, and no matter how perfectly you time the meal, it's impossible to align it with the exact moment they arrive. If you cook it after they arrive, you can't give your guests proper attention, or you end up smelling like food. That's why it's best to choose dishes that you can prepare in advance, cover, and keep warm until needed.




The part about a dish feeling like effort has been made and making guests feel special is a bit tricky. White bean stew, for instance, is a dish that actually requires a lot of attention, but since it's cooked so often in every home, it doesn't make guests feel special. On the other hand, Beef Tenderloin in Sauce isn't something cooked often in every home, so guests will think, "They really put effort in for us."




Surprisingly, Beef Tenderloin in tomato sauce is much easier to make than you'd expect. After searing the tenderloin on both sides, you make a classic Turkish sauce with tomato paste and onions, but with a twist—you blend it. Then, the meat is left to simmer gently on low heat until it’s tender enough to fall apart. People often tend to turn up the heat to speed up the process with dishes like this, but high heat only causes the liquid to evaporate faster; it won’t cook the meat quicker. Speaking of evaporation, if your liquid reduces but the meat isn’t quite done, just add a bit of boiling water and continue cooking.

Enjoy the recipe!

Ingredients:

500 g thinly sliced tenderloin,
1 onion,
1 tablespoon of tomato paste,
1 tablespoon of butter,
3 tablespoons of olive oil,
1 teaspoon of paprika powder,
3 bay leaves,
2 cups of beef broth,
1/2 cup boiling water,
Salt.

Check the recipe on
turkishstylecooking.com/beef-tenderloin-in-tomato-…