Beef wellington
| Servings | 6 |
|---|---|
| Prep time | 1 hour |
| Cooking time | 3 hours |
A simple beef wellington recipe.
Equipment
- Roasting tray
- Large frying pan
- Cling film
- Baking parchment
- Large baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1000g beef fillet
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 250g chestnut mushrooms
- 50g butter
- 1 sprig thyme
- 100ml white wine
- 12 slices Parma ham
- 500g puff pastry
- 2 egg yolks
- plain flour for dusting
Directions
- Heat oven to 210℃. Place the beef on a roasting tray, brush with 1 tbsp of olive oil, season with salt and pepper, then roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes, for medium-rare. Cook a little bit longer if you prefer it more well-done. After it's cooked, remove from the oven and chill in the fridge for about 20 minutes.
- While the beef chills, chop the mushrooms to the texture of coarse breadcrumbs. You can use a food processor, but be careful not to overdo it and turn the mushrooms into a paste.
- Heat a the rest of the olive oil in a large pan, along with the butter. Add the thyme and the mushrooms, and cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes until they soften. Add the wine, and cook for another 10 minutes until the mixture has cooked down. It should have a reasonably firm texture, and roughly hold its shape when stirred. Remove from the heat, discard the thyme, and leave to one side to cool.
- Lay a piece of clingfilm flat, and arrange the parma ham slices in two rows—slightly overlapping—so that they will completely encase the beef fillet when rolled around.
- Spread the mushroom mixture evenly over the ham, then place the chilled beef fillet on top. Use the cling film to wrap the parma ham and mushrooms around the fillet, starting from one end, to create a sausage shape. Twist the ends of the cling film closed, then place the fillet back in the fridge to chill for another 30 minutes.
- Dust the work surface with a little flour. Roll out 1/3 of the pastry to a rectangle around 20cm x 30cm, and place on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Roll the rest of the pastry out to a rectangle around 30 x 40cm and set aside. Remove the beef fillet from the cling film and gently place on top of the smaller sheet of pastry. Use the beaten eggs to brush the edges of the pastry, then gently place the larger portion of pastry on top of the fillet. Trim the edges so there's a rim of about 4cm, then press together using the handle of a spoon. Glaze all over with the beaten egg, then carefully score the pastry on top, diagonally, taking care not to slice through. Chill for at least an hour.
- Heat the over to 180℃. Brush the wellington with a little more egg yolk, then cook until ready – usually about 20-25 minutes for a medium-rare, or 30 minutes for more well-done. Remove from the oven, then stand for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.