Peppered Lavender Beef
This is another "10" meat dish that will be sure to please everyone you serve it to. The lavender flowers give off a gentle hint of lavender. Be sure to try this one. Since I dried my own lavender flowers this year, I've been experimenting with ways to use them in my cooking.
1 (3- to 4-pound) beef tenderloin roast
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoons whole white peppercorns
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons dried lavender flowers*
*Available in health food stores or use your home-dried flowers
Trim fat for roast. Pat the beef dry with paper towels. Lightly oil outside of roast.
In a small spice or coffee grinder, coarsely grind the black peppercorns, white peppercorns, fennel seeds, thyme, and lavender flowers; rub mixture all over the meat. Wrap tighly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight (preferrably).
Preheat oven to 425°F. Unwrap roast and place onto a rack in a shallow baking pan, tucking the thin end under to make it as thick as the rest of the roast. Place roast onto a rack in a shallow baking pan, tucking the thin end under to make it as thick as the rest of the roast. Roast for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F and continue to roast until the internal temperature reaches desired temperature on a meat thermometer (see below).
Rare - 120°F
Medium Rare - 125°F
Medium - 130°F
Remove from oven and transfer onto a cutting board; let stand 15 minutes before carving (meat temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees after it is removed from the oven). Transfer onto a serving platter and serve immediately with any accumulated juices.
Makes 6 to 8 servings.