Mr Man has just arrived home after a gruelling 14 hour flight from China and we are having a Saturday night in. We wanted to make something that said ‘welcome home’ and thought that this might do the trick – and it did.
Beef Wellington rose to great popularity in the 60’s and alongside the fondue, the iceberg wedge salad and souffles, it has retained a cult-like following. And for a very good reason too – it is superb! Cooking this prime cut of beef in a puff pastry parcel renders it meltingly tender, whilst encasing it with the glorious combination of pate and mushrooms makes for a quite a spectacular dish.
As you can see, my Beef Wellington was cooked to a medium raw rare (it was more cooked than it looks in the photo!) – another 5 minutes in the oven would have had it at a perfect medium. Mr Man was too impatient to wait and with jet-lag starting to hit, he needed his dinner before hitting the couch (with his two beloved daughters crawling all over him).
Ingredients
150 grams/5.3 ounces good-quality pate (pate de foie gras if you can)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 kilo/2 pounds and 4 ounce piece of trimmed beef fillet, at room temperature
2 sheets (500 grams/1 pound and 2 ounces) butter puff pastry
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten with a teaspoon of water (egg wash)
Duxelles
2 tablespoons olive oil
200 grams/7 ounces mixed mushrooms (I used Shiitake and button mushrooms)
20 grams butter
2 golden shallots (scallions), finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons thyme, finely chopped
60 mls Madeira
Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add mushrooms and cook until tender (3-4 minutes). Add butter, shallots, garlic and thyme, sauté for a further 2 – 3 minutes. Add Madeira and cook until evaporated (1-2 minutes). Season to taste and allow to cool slightly (5 – 10 minutes). Transfer to a blender or food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Set aside to cool completely, then drain to remove any excess liquid.
Mix pâté until smooth, then stir through duxelles and refrigerate until required.
Heat oil in a large frying pan over high heat, season beef to taste, seal in pan until golden (1-2 minutes each side). Set aside to cool and brush (all over) with a light smear of dijon mustard.
Roll pastry sheets separately on a lightly floured surface to 4cm longer than beef fillet. Line your baking dish with parchment paper and place 1 sheet of the puff pastry on top, spread a quarter of the duxelles and place fillet on top. Spread remaining duxelles over beef, brush the edges with eggwash and cover with remaining pastry. Trim pastry edges, leaving a 3cm border, and press with your fingers or a fork to seal. Place your baking dish in your refrigerater to chill for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 220c/425f. Brush pastry with remaining eggwash and bake until pastry is golden and puffed and beefed is cooked (25-30 minutes for medium-rare and approx 35 minutes for medium). Set aside to rest for 10 minutes, then slice thickly and serve with roasted potatoes and greens/vegetables.
Notes: You can make this ahead of time and keep in the refrigerator until you are ready for dinner.
© 2011, Michelle. All rights reserved.
