Beef Tenderloin w Roasted Red Potatoes

1 lb red potatoes, sliced thinly and halved
2 TBS olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
4 c beef broth
2 tsp tomato paste
2 lb beef tenderloin steaks, trimmed
1 tsp thyme
3 slices bacon
3 TBS butter, melted
2 TBS all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375F. In a 9-inch pie pan, toss potatoes with oil to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in the oven until they are tender, about 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour beef broth into a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook over high heat for 5 minutes letting it boil hard. Whisk in tomato paste and set aside.

Trim beef, pound lightly and pat dry. Sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper.

In a large roasting pan, set over medium heat (this is the first time I have ever used the middle part of our stove on the large 'fish' burner as it was introduced to me by the Italian tech, but I suppose on a regular stove you would use 2 burners??) saute bacon until golden. Transfer bacon to paper towels. Add beef to the pan and cook for 4 minutes on each side to brown it. Shut off the heat and transfer the pan to the oven. Roast beef for about 25 minutes or until cooked through. Transfer beef to a plate.

Place roasting pan back on the burner over high heat this time; add broth mixture and bring to a boil, scraping the browned bits off the bottom into the broth. Transfer back into the saucepan and bring to a simmer on a regular burner. Mix 1 1/2 TBS of the butter and the flour in a small bowl to form a smooth paste; whisk into broth mixture, and simmer until sauce thickens. Whisk in remaining butter and remove from heat. Stir in potatoes and bacon, breaking the bacon into small pieces as you put it in the pot, and season with salt and pepper.

Cut beef into 1/2 in thick slices on each person's plate and then place the potato and sauce over the beef (or next to it as we did since we weren't sure, but we ended up dipping the meat in it and eating it all together anyway).