Spinach Pasta with Seared Fillet

I love being creative in the kitchen and I pick up many tips from BBC Food. I almost never cook a recipe as it is and love to experiment and substitute ingredients. Of course, this is sometimes necessary as we don't have the same ingredients as the presenters do in England, France and Australia.

I had one of those days when I just wanted to cook and my spinach in the garden was ready to be eaten. I also had a fillet in the freezer that needed something to be done with, so, I came up with this recipe:


Spinach Pasta with Seared Fillet
(serves 2)

Ingredient List
200g Beef Fillet
Marinade:
- 50ml Oil (olive or sunflower)
- 5ml Balsamic Vinegar
- 15ml Worcestershire Sauce
- 15ml Soy Sauce
- 15ml Lemon Juice
- Black Pepper & Salt
- Chili Flakes (optional)
- Fresh Herbs, eg. Thyme, Rosemary, Sage, Marjoram, etc. (optional)
200g Dry Pasta (any kind you like)
200ml Milk
15ml Butter / Margarine
15ml Flour
A few Spinach Leaves (use more or less to your taste)
Half a Camembert Cheese (optional)
Parmesan to garnish (optional)

Method
Marinade about 200g fillet in a mixture of oil, a few drops of balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, black pepper, salt, lemon juice and any other herbs and spices you like.
I used some fresh thyme and marjoram that I had in the garden and for a little kick I added some dry chili flakes.
Marinade for a minimum of 30 minutes. You can marinade this up to 24 hours, but an hour or so is more than efficient.

Dump the pasta in boiling salt water and add a little oil so they won't stick together.

Make a thin white sauce with about 200ml milk, 1 tablespoon of butter/margarine and flour each and salt to taste.

Sear the fillet in a hot pan on all sides (about 4 minutes per side) and set aside to rest for 10 minutes.

Once the white sauce is cooked, add sliced spinach and stir through. While the spinach is wilting, slice the fillet in the thinnest strips you can manage.

Toss the pasta in the spinach sauce, add cubed Camembert cheese (optional) and scoop into a serving dish. Arrange the slivers of beef on top and grate some Parmesan over everything to finish.

Serve immediately.

This recipe multiplies really easily and can be altered to suit your taste. The raw meat can look a bit daunting, especially for someone who has never eaten carpaccio before, but I assure you, it tastes great!
I served this to some "carpaccio virgins" at my Bible study group and they were a bit sceptical, but all of them had extra helpings and said they were pleasantly surprised!

Try it! (I dare you!) And tell me what you think!