Filetto, or filet mignon, is one of the most voluptuous of all beef cuts, and because of its popularity and ease of preparation, there are a great many recipes for it. Here is a zesty Italian way of preparing filet mignon, simple but -mouth–watering. In this recipe, the complexity of flavors in the sauce comes from the reduction of the balsamic vinegar.
The traditional balsamic vinegar is delicious but expensive, so when making this reduction, use one of the different offerings of balsamic vinegar you find in the grocery store; it will yield a great sauce. If you feel extravagant and have one of those little precious bottles of the Balsamico Tradizionale—seven years old, aged in wooden casks in the solero method—instead of making the reduction from the commercial balsamic vinegar, just drizzle some of the Tradizionale over the filet.
The Balsamico Tradizionale, made by selected producers, is always sold in the signature bottle with an onion like base. The bottlers are different, the bottle shape the same and the product sublime.