Name: Beef Tenderloin with Einkorn, Fiddleheads, and Horseradish Cream
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 70 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: 1 cup einkorn (or other wheat berry); 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock; 1/4 cup walnut pieces; 1.5 tbsp butter; salt (to taste); 2 tbsp prepared horseradish; 1/4 cup plain yogurt ((thin variety - not thick/Greek)); 250 g fiddleheads; 1 tbsp butter; 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar; 1 tsp honey (or sugar); salt (to taste); black pepper (to taste); 4-6 medallions beef tenderloin (depending on size, number served); salt; 2 tbsp butter; 1 tbsp vegetable oil ((I like avocado oil)); 1/4 cup red wine

Seared beef tenderloin medallions with simmered einkorn (heirloom wheatberries), sauteed fiddleheads, and a horseradish-yogurt cream on a dark blue plate

Beef Tenderloin, Einkorn, & Fiddleheads

with Horseradish-Yogurt Cream

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I'm happy to say that I'm feeling like a fiddlehead today. I mean that in the poetic, figurative sense - though it would also be fair to interpret it as 'I feel like eating one or more fiddleheads.' Spring is here and the more tenacious plants out there are just ready and raring to herald its arrival by bursting out of the black soil. And you know what, I'm feeling that sentiment right down to my core.

March was something else. I normally don't like to diarize a whole lot here, but boy am I glad we've made it to April. March 2019 started off with about as much excitement as one could reasonably hope for - we had a baby. Yes, we welcomed the arrival of our third baby boy. He showed up on time, healthy, and without too much fuss (I think I'm allowed to say that, but my wife can definitely correct me when she reads this). But apparently we got all of the positive stuff out of the way early, because the rest of the month hit me like a freight train. A sadistic, germ-infested freight train. I won't overshare on the details - after all, I'm trying to make you hungry here. Let's just say that things were bad on a tragic-comedy level, and the blows just kept coming. Julius Caesar would have looked at my March and said "Yikes." Presumably in Latin.

And yet, here we are. Surviving. Thriving, even (fingers crossed). We're poking our green heads through the black loam and unfurling our leaves. And I figured I'd commemorate this literal and figurative Spring of ours with a recipe that celebrates some of nature's most tenacious, vivacious plants. The plants that just keep coming back, persisting despite the best efforts of time and nature. And beef tenderloin, because treat yo'self.

Surviving & Thriving

Fiddleheads, horseradish, and einkorn: three very different, very tenacious plants, very inspiring plants. Each of these plants manages to be remarkable in its own unique way, and because I'm a sucker for a bit of interesting biology, I thought I'd explore these stories in a bit more detail. And whether or not you've ever looked to nature for inspiration in your life before, be prepared, because you're about to encounter some seriously bad-ass vegetation.

Ferns

Let's take a look at fiddleheads first. They're one of the more interesting and unusual spring vegetables, namely because they come from a group of plants that we don't use as a food source all that often. Fiddleheads are the tender, curled up greens (fronds, technically) of a variety of fern species. Ostrich ferns (Matteuccia struthiopteris) are perhaps the most common and well-known, but there are actually a number of species that can be eaten. The image of compact, curled fronds pushing their way up from the ground certainly evoke a sense of spring and rebirth, but they're chutzpah is no mere show - it's deeply rooted (sorry) in the evolutionary history of our planet. Ferns are ancient survivors - prehistoric survivors of a bygone world. Ferns first show up in the fossil record in the late Devonian period, over 360 million years ago. By the time the first dinosaurs were walking around, ferns had diversified into many of the groups still found on Earth today. And in the late Cretaceous, when flowering plants (which are our most important food sources) were absolutely exploding in diversity, ferns quietly went through an evolutionary radiation of their own, becoming even more diverse and successful. The Cretaceous ended with a very different kind of explosion of course. The dinosaurs may have been toast, but the ferns? They just kept right on going. In fact, ferns have chugged right along through four major extinction events in the planet's history - and it looks like they'll make it through number five (the one we're currently causing). The biology of ferns can seem quite alien to us when compared to flowering plants; they reproduce with spores (not seeds), and they undergo an interesting and ancient life cycle called 'alternation of generations,' in which the plant cycles between miniature ground-hugging 'gametophyte' and leafy above-ground 'sporophyte' generations. It's ancient, but effective - and 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' is a solid survival strategy.

Einkorn

Einkorn is wheat. OLD wheat. Really, really old in fact. Unlike the other plants I've spoken about today, einkorn is a domesticated plant, meaning that we're responsible for its development. It came from a wild plant of course - in fact, the name einkorn can refer to both the domesticated grain and its wild ancestor. The primary difference is whether or not the seed heads 'shatter' - that is, break away from the stalk and scatter the seeds on the ground. Domesticated einkorn doesn't, which is bad for wild plants, as the seeds don't spread easily, but great for humans who want to gather the nutritious grains for themselves. This is of course a feature of all modern domesticated wheats - and indeed, many of the more recently developed varieties are also higher yielding and easier to thresh. But einkorn is still being grown, even after over 10,000 years of wheat domestication, because it's a true survivor. Modern wheat varieties have definitely taken precedence in most of the world, but einkorn's high disease resistance, drought tolerance, and ability to grow in dry, low-quality soils means that it continues to persevere and endear itself to farmers in situations where no other wheat could cope. It doesn't hurt that it's healthy and tasty too - it tends to be higher in vitamins and minerals, as well as fat. In essence, einkorn persists in modern agriculture and cuisine not just because it's something different, or because it has a certain heirloom cachet, but because it's a survivor.

Who would have thought that an ancient grain could be so inspiring?

Horseradish

Maybe you have the brownest of brown thumbs. Perhaps you've got the botanical touch of death, reducing even the hardiest of houseplants to papery, withered ghosts. Horseradish does not care. You will not kill it.

I've been growing horseradish in my garden for a couple of years now, and let me tell you, this plant does not mess around. If a plant can be bent on world domination, then horseradish has a very healthy head start. This beast of a plant is actually a member of the cabbage family (Brassicaceae), though we tend to grow it for its substantial and pungent root, rather than its large green leaves (though you can eat those too). The root isn't really used as a vegetable though - instead its prized for delivering a pungent, fiery flavour. When damaged, the cells produce allyl isothiocyanate - aka mustard oil. We've cultivated horseradish for thousands of years because we're culinary masochists. Horseradish, not unlike chili peppers, occupy a strange place in our gastronomy - we prize it because we enjoy the strange, even painful sensations produced by the plants defensive compounds. Compounds that are, I would like to point out, meant to drive us away. Humans are weird. In any case, horseradish is well-equipped to defend itself no matter how much you or anything else wants to eat it. If you've ever grown cabbage or a relative like bok choy, you'll know that it's an absolute magnet for pests like the cabbage butterfly. But while I've had my collard reduced to withered green skeletons by these irritating little flappers, the horseradish seems utterly unperturbed. I've read that they can be a problem for these plants, but at least in my area the horseradish seems to shrug them off without a care. Turns out that those defensive chemicals do a pretty great job of keeping bugs at bay.

"But," you say, "I'm not a bug. I've got tools for digging up roots." Yes you do. Horseradish still does not care. You can rip most of an established plant out of the ground (with considerable effort I might add), and it will still grow back from the smallest of root fragments and suckers. Last spring my horseradish decided to embark upon its conquest of my garden, sending dozens of little shoots up in every direction - sometimes as much as a meter from the mother plant. It grows in a raised garden bed, but that hasn't stopped it from working it's way under the wood and into my lawn. Unstoppable. I was once told about some folks who inherited a garden with an untended five-year old horseradish plant. They had to rent a backhoe to pull it out.

So remember this: the next time life's not pulling any punches - be horseradish. Punch back. Be unstoppable.

Recipe Notes

Beef tenderloin is definitely a treat meal as far as I'm concerned, and I designed this recipe to feel like a treat. I hope it gives you a fancy restaurant kind of vibe, but I'm happy to say that if you manage your time well you'll find that this isn't a tricky meal to put together. Below you'll find a layout of the best timeline for getting all of the components done and ready to serve at the same time, as well as some tips on really nailing the cook on your steak. If you're looking for information on the ingredients and/or substitutions, keep on scrolling to the section below the next photo.

Organized Cooking = Good Cooking

There's a fair bit of waiting involved in this recipe, and you'll find that you get the best tasting meal and most efficient use of your time if you organize what you're going to do ahead of time. When you write out a recipe that involves dishes with multiple parts you kind of have to make sure that everything is organized by component, but that doesn't necessarily reflect how to use your time in the kitchen. As such, I strongly recommend that you not only read the recipe through before starting, but that you also roughly plan out what you're going to do and when. This can make the difference between a frustrating time in the kitchen and a relatively easy one. I recommend you use the following schedule:

Start the einkorn (boil stock, bring einkorn to a simmer and cover).
Season steaks, set aside at room temperature.
Make horseradish-yogurt sauce.
Clean and boil the fiddleheads.
Finish the einkorn (butter/walnuts, season, set aside).
Cook the steak, let rest.
Finish the fiddleheads.
Combine everything and serve.

Of course this is only a simplified breakdown of what you're going to want to do - you want to ensure you understand the specifics of what each of these steps involves beforehand. FYI, all of the steps above are listed in the printable recipe below too, so you can always have that handy to refer to.

Lastly, I would encourage you to always organize yourself as much as possible before you start cooking. The reason that a good restaurant can get an amazing and complex-looking dish out to you in only 20 minutes is because a) everything is where it needs to be and time isn't wasted, and b) a lot has been done in advance to make things easier. A good layout and mise-en-place will make pretty much every recipe easier (including this one), and there's no reason that you can't tackle a few aspects of this dish ahead of time. The horseradish sauce can easily be made a day ahead, and even the einkorn can be made and reheated as needed (trust me, it holds up very nicely to this). If you do elect to make the einkorn ahead of time, I would finish it with the butter and walnuts only when you're getting ready to serve.

Cooking the Steak

I try not to be judgmental about the way people like to eat their food. You like what you like. Steak, however, seems to evoke some pretty passionate discourse. If you like your steak well-done, that's fine - but I wouldn't do that with this steak. Beef tenderloin is not a cut of meat well-suited to well-done. It tends to become tough and dry, and frankly you don't need that from an expensive cut of meat. If you're a well-done beef kind of person, I would recommend that you try a fattier cut, or even something like a roast beef or brisket. There's no reason that you can't adapt the einkorn and fiddleheads to something like a roast - especially alongside that nice horseradish cream.

Now, if you are going to cook the tenderloin, you're in for a treat - especially if you follow these tips for getting the most out of your steak:

I wouldn't aim to cook this much beyond medium. Personally I think medium-rare is the perfect doneness for this cut.
Let your steaks get to room temperature before cooking. A steak with a cold center is going to be a royal pain to cook evenly.
Don't try to move the steaks while they're searing. If they won't release from the pan fairly easily, they're probably not ready to flip. If you're worried about burning, make sure that you've got enough butter and oil in the pan. A little smoke is a fact of life with pan-cooking steaks, so don't be afraid.
Don't crowd the pan. Each steak needs its own bit of real estate. Crowded steaks will cook slowly and sear poorly. You also risk bringing the temperature of your pan down a lot if you try to get a ton of meat into a teensy pan. I like to use a nice hefty cast iron pan with plenty of room for each steak to sit without bumping into its neighbours.
Don't overcook the steak. Am I repeating myself here? Sure, but it's worth reiterating. Tenderloin becomes tough if cooked beyond medium.
Steak will continue to cook a little bit after being pulled from the pan. If you're using a meat thermometer (which I personally prefer to do), be sure to allow for the center of the steak to increase in temperature by a few degrees after it's been removed from the pan.
Rest those steaks. Don't cut into them right out of the pan. Refer back to the timing steps I laid out above and you'll see how best to plan for this resting time.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Alright, if you've made it this far without being scared off by two less-than-common ingredients, congrats. But fret not dear reader - there are tips and substitutions to help you along the way.

Oh, and one little bonus note for the curious - that little decorative (but edible!) flower stalk you see in the photos? It's a horseradish blossom.

Einkorn & Gluten-Free Options

As I mentioned in my inspirational lead-in, einkorn is an ancient variety of wheat. It tends to be a little easier to find at health food stores, gourmet stores, etc. If you live in a wheat-growing part of the world, check online and see if there are any local farmers growing einkorn - that's where I got mine (on a trip back home to Alberta), and it's always nice to support a local farmer.

No einkorn? No problem. Any wheat berry will work well here. In case you're unfamiliar with wheat berries, rest assured that they're not some obscure fruit. The term wheat berry simply refers to the whole wheat grain or kernel, separated from the chaff, but left intact (i.e. not milled into flour). You may also encounter the terms emmer and spelt, either with or without the wheat berry moniker - like einkorn, these are terms that refer to specific wheat varieties. You may find wheat berries sold as farro - this is a term that covers the three aforementioned ancient wheat varieties. A product sold simply as a wheat berry may come from an ancient wheat, or from a comparatively modern variety like red spring wheat. For the purposes of this recipe, you can consider einkorn, spelt, emmer, farro, and wheat berries interchangeable - just make sure you're buying the whole wheat berries and not a milled flour. Wheat berries are also easier to find at health food and gourmet grocers, or from online sources. I personally recommend the wonderful grains and flours produced by a Vancouver-based company called Flourist (formerly called GRAIN). They work directly with farmers in Canada to source high-quality, transparently produced grains and legumes, and they ship across North America, right to your door. They also mill some truly spectacular flour (with old school low-temperature stone-milling methods!) that are my go-to for things like homemade pasta, bread, and more. I'm not making any money from that link, FYI - I'm sharing it because I think they a great company doing great work.

Most wheat berries should have fairly similar cook times, but if you're concerned you can Google the specifics for the variety that you happen to get your hands on.

Gluten-free? Can't have wheat, or just can't find wheat berries? No worries - because you're treating the einkorn like a whole grain in this recipe, you can make a number of substitutions. First, let me address the wheat substitutes that DO contain gluten. Rye berries and whole barley can both be cooked much like wheat berries, so you could substitute either here. As for barley, you'd want to use hulled barley rather than pearled barley. Pearled barley has had the outer bran layer removed, which makes it cook faster, but changes the flavour and texture and causes the grains to give up starches while cooking, making them stickier. Both rye berries and hulled barley cook in very much the same way as wheat berries, and (generally) for about the same amount of time. If you're looking for a gluten-free substitute, I would recommend brown rice or whole-grain sorghum.

Note that whole grain cooking times can be a bit variable, so you'll want to keep an eye on the process. I find 40 minutes works quite nicely for einkorn/wheat berries, but feel free to cook them for a longer period of time (checking every 5-10 minutes) if you feel that the grains are too chewy or haven't absorbed enough liquid.

Fiddleheads

Fiddleheads are the young, coiled, sprouting fronds of a variety of fern species (the Ostrich Fern, Matteucia struthiopteris, is probably the most commonly encountered variety). They're generally only available in the spring, and their commercial availability can be quite patchy - foraging, farmers' markets, and gourmet grocery stores are generally going to be your best bets. If you are foraging, you MUST make sure you're confident in your identification skills. Never eat a wild plant if you're unsure about it's identity. Now, if you came across this recipe because you're already a fan of fiddleheads, great! You can breeze through some of the tips below. If you're new to fiddleheads, I'll help you through a few of the important steps you need to follow when making them. And if you want to make this out of season, or you just don't have access to fiddleheads, I've got some variations and substitutions you can try out too.

It's important to note that improperly prepared fiddleheads can cause food poisoning. Interestingly, scientists aren't exactly sure what it is about under-cooked fiddleheads that makes us sick (a subject that is further complicated by the fact that we eat multiple species of fern around the world, and they all have a different biochemistry), but we do know that proper cooking destroys whatever compound seems to be causing the trouble. Here's a basic breakdown of the steps necessary to make your fiddleheads both safe and delicious:

Clean the fiddleheads thoroughly in water, taking care to remove all of the papery brown leafy bits with your fingers.
Gently open the fiddleheads a bit to get out any clinging dirt, and change the water if you're getting a lot of dirt or sendiment out.
Trim away and discard browned ends and any damaged sections.
Precook the fiddleheads by boiling in a large quantity of water (15 minutes) or steaming (12 minutes). Discard the water used and rinse the fiddleheads thoroughly.

At this point, the fiddleheads are safe to finish off with another cooking method (sauteing, in the case of this recipe). For more information on this process, check out this food safety page from the Government of Canada.

If you don't have access to fresh fiddleheads but you live in a region where they're particularly popular, you might be able to find frozen ones. These can be used just like fresh, as long as you follow the steps listed above. Pickled fiddleheads can sometimes be found too, though they will obviously have a more vinegar-heavy pickled flavour. I haven't tested this myself, but I think you could use them in this recipe by omitting the apple cider vinegar from the sauteing step. Let me know if you give it a try!

No fiddleheads at all? No worries. Asparagus tips (another lovely spring treat) would be an excellent substitute. If you're looking for something summery, I would recommend broccoli rabe or broccolini. All of these substitutions have the added benefit of allowing you to forgo the prep and pre-cooking required by the fiddleheads. That being said, you'll need to extend the sauteing period to make sure you cook them through - 6-8 minutes should be about right, and you may need a bit more butter.

Note: Nutritional Information is given for a single serving, including individual portions (1/6th) of all ingredients. Multiply everything by 1.5 if serving four instead of six.

Nutrition Facts

Beef Tenderloin with Einkorn, Fiddleheads, and Horseradish Cream

Amount Per Serving

Calories 296 Calories from Fat 144

% Daily Value*

Fat 16g25%

Saturated Fat 8g50%

Cholesterol 27mg9%

Sodium 217mg9%

Potassium 287mg8%

Carbohydrates 31g10%

Fiber 4g17%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 9g18%

Vitamin A 1785IU36%

Vitamin C 12.5mg15%

Calcium 50mg5%

Iron 1.9mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Summary

GOOD NEWS:

A lean cut of beef with a focus on the veggie and grain sides means that this is relatively low in calories. The whole grain einkorn/wheat is nutritionally dense and low on the glycemic index.

BAD NEWS:

Higher in saturated fat (fairly inescapable with butter and beef), though still quite low as far as the average steak dinner goes.

Ingredient Pages

No ingredient pages have been written yet for any of the ingredients in this recipe. Like to see one? Let me know in the comments below or by email.

Pantry Pages

No pantry pages have been written yet for any of the ingredients in this recipe. Like to see one? Let me know in the comments below or by email.

Note: This recipe is NOT gluten-free with wheat berries (obviously), but it is easily made into a gluten-free recipe by swapping out the grain. See the Recipe Notes above for options.

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