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Filet of Beef Larded, Parisienne

Remove the outer muscular skin and sinews and trim nicely two and a half pounds tenderloin of beef. Carefully lard it with very thin strips of larding pork, using a larding needle. Place the skin and parings of the lard at the bottom of a roasting pan with half a sliced carrot, half a sliced onion, one chopped branch celery, two chopped branches parsley, one saltspoon thyme, one sprig bay-leaf, two cloves, four all-spice and eight whole black peppers. Lay the filet on the bed of the vegetables, etc. Season with a level tablespoon salt, evenly divided. Place a few little bits of butter over the surface of the fillet, the equivalent of one-quarter ounce. Pour in two tablespoons cold water at the bottom of the pan. Place the pan in a very hot oven to roast for fifteen minutes, then turn it over and roast for twenty minutes more, carefully basting it frequently with its own gravy while cooking. Remove it from the oven, dress on a hot dish and keep warm.

Skim off all the fat from the gravy of the roasting pan, then place the pan on a brisk fire. Add one gill tomato sauce and one and a half gills half glaze (demi-glace); reduce the sauce to one-half. Strain through a sieve into a small saucepan, add twelve whole canned mushrooms, one tablespoon good sherry wine, and boil the whole for five minutes, mixing well meanwhile, and pour it over the filet. Arrange six small stuffed tomatoes around the filet. Sprinkle a teaspoon finely chopped tarragon over all and serve.