Beef Wellington

30 mins

40 mins

Beef Wellington is a show-stopping centrepiece for any occasion over the holiday season. The classic recipe has either mushrooms or pâté around the beef with a thin layer of pancakes to hold it all together. In this version, I have used a mushroom filling and replaced the pancakes with thinly sliced Parma ham. This adds a lovely flavour to the finished dish and a special little twist. I hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients Required

Ingredients:

1: White onion, finely-chopped

1: Sprig of thyme

1 leaf: Bay

30g: Unsalted butter

2 pinches: Sea salt

2 pinches: Pepper, ground black

2 cloves: Garlic, finely-chopped

500g: Flat mushrooms, chopped finely in a food processor

10g: Flat leaf parsley, finely-chopped

2g: Tarragon leaves, finely-chopped

1kg: Beef fillet

2 pinches: Sea salt

2 pinches: Pepper, ground black

30ml: Vegetable oil

6 slices: Parma ham

500g: Puff pastry, all butter, rolled to 15cm x 30cm and ½ cm thick

2: Egg yolks

1 pinch: Salt

For the red wine sauce

2 tbsp: Butter, unsalted

2 small: Shallots, finely-sliced

100g: Button mushrooms, finely sliced

250ml: Red wine

350ml: Brown chicken stock

1: Tarragon leaf

Cooking Method

Step 1

In a large sauté pan, on a medium heat, gentle sweeten the onions and herbs in the butter with a couple of pinches of salt and pepper for 5 minutes covered with a lid. Once they are translucent and soft, remove the lid, increase the heat to high, add the garlic and cook for 20 seconds, constantly stirring to reduce the liquid from the onions and cook out the raw garlic. Add the finely chopped mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes stirring all the time until they are cooked through, and all the moisture has evaporated. Add the chopped herbs and spoon the mixture onto a tray and leave to cool before placing in the fridge to firm up.

Step 2

Season the fillet of beef with salt and pepper. Preheat a large frying pan on a high heat and sear the beef in the oil for no longer than 2 minutes. Place onto an oven tray and leave to cool while you roll out your puff pastry. Ensure the pastry is rolled out to a thickness of 2mm and is roughly 30cm long by 35cm wide.

Step 3

Place the Parma ham slices onto the pastry, ensuring it is 2cm longer than your fillet of beef with enough length to completely wrap around the beef. Spoon the mushroom mixture onto the Parma ham and spread to an even thickness making sure you pick out and discard the bay leaf and any thyme stalks. Place the seared fillet of beef in the centre of the mushrooms, mix the egg yolk and salt together in a small bowl and brush the inside edges of the pastry with the seasoned egg yolk. Gently roll the pastry, Parma ham and mushrooms around the beef. Firmly press the overlap of pastry to seal in the beef and tuck the edges underneath.

Step 4

Place this onto a tray lined with greaseproof paper and, using a small knife, gently score the pastry with whatever pattern you chose. Brush with the remaining egg yolk and leave to rest in the fridge while you pre-heat your oven to 200C. Cook for 35 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and leave to rest for at least 15-20 minutes. Carve it at the table with a little red wine sauce and vegetable of your choice.

Step 5

For the sauce: On a medium heat, soften the shallots in the butter for 2-3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and soften for a further 2 minutes. Pour in the red wine and reduce by half. Add the stock, and continue to reduce by half. Taste, correct the seasoning if required and infuse the tarragon in it for five minutes.

Chef's Tips

Choose a rich, full-bodied wine but don’t spend more than £4-£5 as the difference in the quality of a more expensive bottle will be lost once you have boiled this and made the sauce. A pinch of sugar may be required depending upon the wine.