Beef cheek Benedict, tarragon béarnaise, apple & watercress salad, 64-degree eggs

Method

For the beef cheek marinade, combine all the ingredients in a bowl large enough to fit the beef cheeks. Marinate the beef cheeks in this mixture in the refrigerator overnight, or longer if possible. Remove the beef cheeks from the marinade and pat them dry. Reserve the marinade. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Put the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the beef cheeks well on all sides. Transfer the meat to a deep baking tin. Mix the tomato paste and salt into the marinade and pour the mixture over the beef cheeks. Cover the tin with foil and bake in the oven for 3 hours, then reduce the heat to 130°C and cook for a further 2 hours. We use a slow braise so we are able to easily pull apart the beef cheeks. Remove the cheeks from the sauce and gently pull them apart using two forks. Transfer the tin to the stove top and reduce the sauce in the tin to approximately 300 ml. Remove the bay leaf, then blend the sauce until smooth using a hand-held or jug blender – the vegetables will help thicken the liquid. Mix this sauce back through the slightly pulled beef cheek. For the béarnaise, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to settle and for the buttermilk to separate. Remove only the clarified butter from the saucepan, discarding the buttermilk. In a heatproof bowl, beat the egg yolks, water, lemon juice and tarragon vinegar. Put the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Whisk the egg mixture until it has thickened and about doubled in size, but do not scramble the eggs. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly whisk in the clarified butter in a steady stream, until thick and smooth. Do not do this too quickly to begin with, or it will not emulsify. Stir through the chopped tarragon, white pepper and salt to taste. For the apple and watercress salad, slice the apple into matchsticks, then transfer to a bowl and fold in the lemon juice. Combine the apple with the soft herb garnish and add the house dressing. Season with salt. To build the plate, take the bottom half of the brioche bun and top it with about 120 g of the beef cheeks. Top with two 64-degree eggs. Cover the eggs with 2 good tablespoons of the béarnaise and serve with the apple and watercress salad on the side. Finish the dish with the crispy shallots and top with the other half of the toasted bun.