Beef Tenderloin Stuffed with Roasted Red Peppers & Olives

Roasted beef tenderloin makes an especially festive Christmas dinner. Anything green, such as baby green beans or steamed spinach, would be a beautiful side dish to let the colors on the plate play on a holiday theme.

• 1 medium red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded, and finely diced
• 7 Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
• 1 to 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbs. toasted pine nuts
• 2 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3 Tbs. crumbled feta
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• One 1-lb. center-cut beef tenderloin, silverskin trimmed
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, halved crosswise

In a small bowl, combine the red pepper, olives, minced garlic, pine nuts, parsley, and feta. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a pastry bag without a tip or to a heavy-duty zip-top bag with a corner snipped off. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Heat the oven to 425°F. Insert a long, thin-bladed knife straight through the center of the roast as far as you can, with the cutting edge to the right. Make a 3/4-inch cut to the right, turn the blade 180 degrees, and make a 3/4-inch cut to the left. Repeat, this time going up and down to create an incision that looks like a + sign. If your knife didn't go all the way through, repeat on the other side.

Push the end of a wooden spoon through the completed channel to even out the enlarge the space. If the spoon is too short to go the length of the roast, repeat on the other side.

With a pastry bag or zip-top bag, pipe half of the filling into one side of the roast. Repeat on the other side. The roast's diameter will almost double. Using a large needle and unwaxed dental floss, loosely sew across the ends of the roast, creating a mesh to hold in the stuffing. Leave the floss ends long for easy removal after cooking.

Tie the roast with kitchen twine, spacing the ties about 1 inch apart.

Rub the beef with the olive oil and the halved garlic clove. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a small flameproof roasting pan or ovenproof skillet (you won’t need a rack). Roast until an instant-read thermometer reads 130°F for medium rare, 18 to 20 minutes. When testing for doneness, be sure to insert the thermometer as far into the tenderloin and as close to the stuffing as possible. Remove the floss and twine, tent the roast with foil, and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Carve the roast into even slices and serve.