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Wine & Food

Tenderloin of Beef on a Blueberry Barbecue Sauce with Roasted Garlic-Green Chile Mashed Potatoes

by Robert McGrath

Robert's menu is ideal for a late summer cookout, when blueberries and garden vegetables are at their peak.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 7-ounce beef tenderloin steaks
• Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Roasted Garlic-Green Chile Mashed Potatoes:

• 3 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons roasted garlic purée (about 2 heads of garlic)
• 2 tablespoons roasted green chile purée (roast and peel a fresh Anaheim chile pepper or use canned green chiles)
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Blueberry Barbecue Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onions
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeño pepper
• 1 pint blueberries
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup tomato ketchup
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 1/4 cup butter

Vegetable Garnish:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup blanched haricots verts (tiny green beans)
• 1/4 cup corn kernels
• 1/4 cup blanched fava beans, or other fresh shell beans
• 1 tablespoon diced red bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons diced red onion
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 cup fresh blueberries for garnish

Season the steaks on both sides with salt and pepper and set aside in a cool place.

To prepare the mashed potatoes, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash 2 large heads of garlic. Cut across the top of the head just enough to expose the cloves. Place a 6-inch square of heavy-duty aluminum foil on your work surface and place the heads of garlic on the foil, cut side up. Drizzle with a little olive oil and enclose the garlic completely by bringing the foil up and over, crimping the top. Place in the oven and roast until tender, about a half an hour. When done, set aside until the garlic is cool enough to handle, then squeeze the softened garlic cloves into a small bowl. Mash until smooth and set aside. Next, purée enough roasted green chile to make 2 tablespoons.

Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in salted water until they are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and transfer them to a baking sheet. Place in the oven for about 10 minutes to dry the potatoes. Transfer them to a large bowl and add the milk and butter. Using an electric mixer or a potato masher, combine ingredients until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons each of the roasted garlic and the green chile purée and mix until incorporated. Season to taste. Keep the mashed potatoes hot until serving time by placing the mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring the mixture occasionally. To prepare the sauce, sauté the onions and jalapeño over medium heat in a small stainless steel saucepan. Add the blueberries, brown sugar, vinegar, ketchup, mustard and Tabasco sauce. Cook at a low boil for 15 minutes, stirring often. Purée the sauce in a food processor or blender, then strain it. Whisk in the butter and season to taste.

Put the steaks on a hot grill and cook to your preferred doneness, about 4 to 5 minutes on each side for medium rare. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat and sauté the red bell pepper and red onion until just soft. Add the green beans, fava beans and corn and stir to mix. Continue to cook for about another minute. Season to taste.

When ready to serve, cover the bottom of each dinner plate with blueberry barbecue sauce and follow with a generous spoonful of mashed potatoes placed slightly off-center. Lean a steak against the potatoes and spoon a portion of the vegetable mixture across the top of the plate. Sprinkle with fresh blueberries.
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Robert McGrath

Windows on the Green at The Phoenician Scottsdale in AZ
Robert McGrath, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, has always enjoyed traveling. After attending the Cordon Bleu Cooking School in Paris and the Culinary Institute of America he combined vocation and avocation with positions in Florida, California, New York and Texas. His 15 years of experience in the hospitality business includes roles as executive chef at the Plantation Yacht Harbor in the Florida Keys; sous-chef at the Disneyland Hotel in California; executive chef of the Arrowwood Resort in Westchester, New York; chef de cuisine at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin, Texas; and executive chef of the Four Seasons Hotel in Houston. He was chef/proprietor of his own restaurant, Sierra, in Houston before coming to Windows on the Green at The Phoenician in 1993.

Robert's expertise and creativity have been recognized with a variety of awards and honors. In 1986, after winning gold medals in competitions around the country, he was named a member of the United States Culinary Team. He was singled out as one of the Ten Best New Chefs in America by Food & Wine in 1988. The following year, DeVille, the restaurant at the Houston Four Seasons over which he presided, was named one of The Best New Restaurants in America by Esquire. In 1990, his peers in the Chefs in America organization named him Chef of the Year and he was once again honored by Esquire when Sierra was named in its survey of The Best New Restaurants in America in 1992.

The Gourmet/Evian Healthy Menu Awards named Robert the Southwest regional winner in 1993 and the national winner in 1994. Gourmet featured him in its 1994 piece "Chefs Across America" and he was nominated as Best American Chef: Southwest in 1994 and 1995 by The James Beard Foundation.

The Phoenician is a luxury destination resort situated on 130 acres of lush desert terrain at the foot of Camelback Mountain. At Windows on the Green, Robert uses such regional ingredients as jicama, cactus, chiles and game along with the traditional techniques of smoking and grilling to create his innovative version of Southwest cuisine. In addition to his many duties at the restaurant, Robert has created a series of monthly cooking classes called Robert McGrath & Friends, with outstanding guest chefs from around the country.
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