Beef Fillet with Cherry Shallots on Potato Gratin

For plate decorations: First let the puff pastry thaw. Use the cookie cutter to cut out fir trees or stars or hearts (depending on the occasion). Sprinkle with grated cheese (I used wasabi cheese) and bake in the oven at 200 degrees for about 6-8 minutes.

For the gratin, peel the potatoes and cut or slice them into very thin slices. Spread the melted butter in 8 hollows in a muffin tin. Layer the slices, adding salt and pepper and sprinkling with butter. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper (one side must remain free). Bake for about 40 minutes at 180 degrees.

Drain the cherries. Peel the shallots and quarter them lengthways. For the fillet crust, grind the coffee, mix with chopped garlic, 1 tablespoon sugar, the paprika and 11/2 teaspoons each of salt and pepper. Fry the fillets vigorously in oil on both sides, then turn them in the crust.

Fry shallots in the frying fat, sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar, let caramelize. Deglaze with the cherry juice, vinegar and 100 ml water and simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir cornstarch into 2 tablespoons of water and then stir into the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place the meat on the tray about 7 minutes before the end of the gratin cooking time and let it cook. Let the meat rest briefly and then arrange it nicely.