Serves 4
For The Beef Wellington
- 4x 140g (5oz) potions of beef fillet
- Olive oil for frying
- 500g chestnut mushrooms
- 1 small shallot- finely diced
- ½ a clove of garlic- finely crushed
- 600g rolled puff pastry/ dairy free puff
- 8 slices of prosciutto
- 2 egg yolks, beaten with a little water and salt
- Salt and pepper
For the mash
- 1kg potatoes peeled and chopped into large pieces
- 300g butter/ olive oil
- 100ml milk/ dairy free alternative
- salt and pepper.
For the spinach
- 400g washed spinach
- Salt and pepper
For the thyme jus
- 500ml chicken stock
- 1 shallot- peeled and sliced
- 1 clove of garlic- peeled and sliced
- 20g thyme
- 100ml wine
Method
For The Beef Wellington
- Tie each piece of beef around the circumference with butchers string to tighten up the fillet and shape.
- Season the beef with salt a pepper and quickly seal and brown the beef in a very hot pan with a little oil. Ensure the beef is kept raw, then chill.
- Finely chop the mushroom (a blender is the fastest method here). Gently fry the shallot with a generous amount of olive oil in a frying pan set over a medium heat, cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute. Add the mushrooms and a little seasoning, stir and continue to cook until there is no liquid in the pan and the mix is quite dry.
- Remove the duxelles from the pan and chill.
- Cut out 4 base discs of puff pastry, allowing an excess of 2cm around the beef. Then cut out 4 larger discs, which have a wide enough circumference to envelop the beef and join the base discs. Place in the fridge. Keep any excess pieces and make decorations if you would like.
- Place two sheets of prosciutto on the chopping board to make a plus sign. Create a thin layer of duxelles on the beef, making sure it is entirely covered. Place the beef in the centre of the prosciutto, and wrap the ham around.
- Take the puff pastry out of the fridge, and egg wash one side. Place the wrapped beef in the centre of the smaller disc of pastry, then gently cover with the larger disc. Try to ensure that type pastry is tight to the beef, and then join the puff together at the bottom. If you have a lot of excess pastry, cut out again with a cutter, then crimp with a fork.
- Egg wash the outside of the wellington, and decorate if you would like. If you leave it plain, place it in the fridge to chill and allow the yolk to dry, you can lightly score the pastry to make a nice pattern.
- Pre-heat fan assisted over to 215 deg Celsius, with a try inside.
- Place the wellington on a small square of parchment paper, and place onto the hot try in the oven. For medium rare, cook for around 15 minutes and then rest for 5 minutes out of the oven.
For the mash
- Place the potatoes in a pan, cover with salted water and cook until soft. Alternatively, steam until tender.
- Bring your milk to the boil and melt the butter.
- Mash or pass through a sieve.
- Add the melted butter, and enough milk to emulsify. Season with salt and pepper.
For the spinach
- Gently steam over a pan of water, until just wilted. Drain off excess liquid through a sieve.
For the thyme jus
- Sweat the shallot and garlic with a little olive oil over a medium heat, until tender.
- Add the wine, and reduce the liquid down by 2/3.
- Add the stock and thyme, and reduce until you gain a sauce with a bit of body.