Beef Wellington

Ingredients

• 750 gbeef fillet, centre-cut; room temperature before cooking
• 400 gmushrooms, blended to a paste (duxelles)
• 2 tbspenglish mustard, Dijon also works
• olive oil, dash, for searing
• 7 slicesparma ham, 6–8 slices; overlapping to form a sheet
• 500 gpuff pastry, ready-rolled or sheet
• all-purpose flour, for dusting work surface
• 2egg yolks, beaten, for egg wash
• salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste

Method

1. 1

   Pulse the mushrooms in a food processor with salt and pepper until a rough paste. Cook in a dry pan over high heat for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until all moisture has evaporated. Spread on a plate to cool.

2. 2

   Heat a frying pan with a dash of olive oil until very hot. Season the beef and sear for 30 seconds on each side — just to colour, not cook. Remove and leave to cool. Brush all over with mustard.

3. 3

   Lay a large sheet of cling film on a work surface. Arrange the Parma ham slices in overlapping rows. Spread the mushroom duxelles over the ham. Place the beef in the centre and roll tightly using the cling film to form a barrel shape. Twist the ends to secure and chill for 15–20 minutes.

4. 5

   Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Lightly score the pastry in 1 cm intervals and glaze again with beaten egg yolk. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce to 180°C (350°F) and bake 15 minutes more.

5. 6

   Rest for 10–15 minutes before slicing. The beef should be pink in the centre.

6. 4

   Roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface to about 3 mm thick (the thickness of a £1 coin). Remove the cling film from the beef roll and place it in the centre. Brush the surrounding pastry with egg yolk, fold the ends over, and wrap the beef, trimming any excess. Turn seam-side down onto a baking sheet. Brush all over with egg and chill for 15 minutes.