Beef Wellington

Beef

• beef fillet1 kg
• olive oil2 tbsp
• English mustard2 tbsp
• salt2 tsp
• black pepper1 tsp

Duxelles

• chestnut mushrooms800 g
• shallots2
• garlic2 clove
• butter30 g
• fresh thyme1 tbsp
• dry sherry50 ml
• salt

Assembly

• prosciutto12 slice
• all-butter puff pastry500 g
• plain flour2 tbsp
• egg yolks2
• flaky sea salt1 tsp
• milk1 tbsp

Beef

1. 01

   Take the centre-cut fillet, trimmed and tied, out of the fridge 1 hour ahead and season it all over with the salt and coarsely ground pepper.

2. 02

   Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan until it is shimmering and almost smoking. Sear the fillet for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, standing it on its ends too, until it is deeply browned all the way round. You are colouring the outside only, so move it along briskly.

3. 03

   Lift it onto a plate, snip off the string and brush it all over with the mustard while it is still warm so it clings. Leave to cool, then chill.

Duxelles

4. 04

   Wipe the chestnut mushrooms clean and blitz them in a food processor in two batches until they look like coarse wet grit. Do not let them go to a purée.

5. 05

   Very finely chop the shallots and garlic and pick the thyme leaves. Melt the butter in a wide pan over medium-high heat and cook the very finely chopped shallots for 3 minutes, then add the mushrooms, the finely chopped garlic and the picked thyme leaves. They will flood the pan with liquid almost at once.

6. 06

   Keep cooking, stirring often, for 20 to 25 minutes until every drop of that liquid has gone and the mixture is dark, dry and holds its shape when you drag a spoon through it. This is the step that decides whether the base of the pastry is crisp or soggy, so take it further than feels right.

7. 07

   Pour in the sherry and cook for another 2 minutes until the pan is dry again. Season with salt, spread the duxelles on a tray and cool completely.

Assembly

8. 08

   Lay a large sheet of cling film on the worktop and arrange the prosciutto on it in two overlapping rows, making a rectangle long enough to wrap around the fillet with a little overlap.

9. 09

   Spread the cold duxelles over the prosciutto in an even layer, leaving a 2 cm border at the long edge furthest from you. Sit the chilled fillet along the near edge.

10. 10

    Using the cling film, roll the prosciutto and duxelles tightly around the beef into a neat cylinder. Twist the ends of the film like a cracker to tighten it further, and chill for 30 minutes.

11. 11

    Roll the chilled puff pastry out on a surface dusted with the flour to a rectangle about 3 to 4 mm thick, big enough to enclose the cylinder. Unwrap the beef onto it, brush the far edges with the egg yolks beaten with a tablespoon of milk, and roll the pastry over, pressing out air as you go.

12. 12

    Trim the seam to a 2 cm flap, press it closed with a fork and turn the parcel seam side down. Fold and trim the ends, tuck them under, then chill for another 30 minutes until firm.

13. 13

    Heat the oven to 200°C with a baking tray inside. Brush the Wellington all over with egg wash, score the top with the back of a knife in fine diagonal lines, brush again and scatter with flaky salt.

14. 14

    Slide it onto the hot tray and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the pastry is deep golden and a probe pushed into the centre of the beef reads 50 to 52°C for medium rare.

15. 15

    Rest for 15 minutes before carving into thick slices with a serrated knife. The temperature will climb a few more degrees as it sits.