Crostini with Beef Tenderloin and Chickpea Puree

How to prepare crostini with beef tenderloin and chickpea puree

1. In a small food processor or coffee grinder (I prefer the latter for grinding spices), blend the dried porcini mushrooms until you get a powder. Add the peppercorns and chili and blend briefly, until they're broken down but you can still see pepper pieces. Add the salt and sugar and mix. This will yield 5-6 tablespoons of seasoning, which can be used for 5 steaks of this size. Store any unused portion in a sealed jar.
2. Massage the meat all over with 2 tablespoons of oil, then add 1 generous tablespoon of the porcini seasoning and massage again until evenly coated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. When you want to prepare the meat, take it out of the refrigerator 15-30 minutes beforehand so it returns to room temperature.
3. For this recipe, the chickpeas need to be hot. If you have them already cooked in the refrigerator, put them in a pot with water and bring to a boil. You can use canned chickpeas - bring them to a boil along with the liquid from the can.
4. Put the hot chickpeas in a food processor (or blender cup). Add the butter cut into cubes, olive oil, and lemon juice. Sprinkle with a little salt and grind black pepper. Blend well, drizzling in just a little hot water. When it becomes a fine paste, add the rest of the hot water in two batches and continue blending for a long time (about 30 seconds), until you get the finest and creamiest puree possible, but be careful it remains spreadable. Adjust salt and lemon juice to taste.
   * The chickpea puree is best prepared fresh, maximum 10 minutes before using it. If you make it a bit earlier, cover it with plastic wrap that touches the entire surface to prevent an unsightly crust from forming; stir well before using.
5. Cut the baguette into appropriate slices, diagonally to have a larger surface for assembly. Drizzle the slices on one side with a little olive oil.
6. Heat a grill pan and toast the slices first on the oiled side until they get nice grill marks, but don't let them brown too much or they'll become too crispy (1-2 minutes). Flip the slices and leave on the other side for just 30 seconds.
8. Transfer the slices to the serving platter with the oiled side up. Rub each slice with a garlic clove (you can make them as garlicky as you like).
9. Leave the grill pan you used for the baguette on the heat. Place the tenderloin in the pan and cook for 3 minutes, then flip and cook for another 3 minutes. Transfer the tenderloin to a cutting board and let it rest for 4-5 minutes, then slice it thinly against the grain. If the slices are very long, you can cut them in half to match the size of the baguette they'll sit on.
10. Put the beef slices in a bowl, grind black pepper to taste, sprinkle more chili flakes, then add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Add the spinach and basil (whole leaves) and toss gently, sprinkling a little coarse salt.
11. Take 1 heaping teaspoon of chickpea puree and place it on one end of each slice. Dip the spoon in extra virgin olive oil and use the back of it to make an indentation in the center of the puree on each slice. Drizzle a little olive oil into each crater. Place pieces of beef on the remaining free part of the baguette, making sure to include basil and spinach with each crostini. When you've finished assembling the meat, grind black pepper over the crostini and then sprinkle with salt flakes. Serve immediately.

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