Tonight I made on an english favorite, Beef Wellington. Being that I still had 1/2 an uncooked tenderloin roast left over from Friday night (I cut it in 1/2 before cooking as the cut was rather large). I found a recipe from Gordon Ramsey so it was bound to be great! Thankfully, his recipe called for a mushroom and prosciutto filling, rather than the traditional liver pate. While I'm not opposed to pate, it is not something I carry in my kitchen, nor do I know how to cook or prepare it.
This Beef Wellington roast turned out impeccably! I paired it with left over mashed potatoes (also from Friday night) and a mixed Herb Greens salad with Asian Pear tossed in my "Mortar and Pestle" Vinaigrette. Having the leftover mashed potatoes and making a quick tossed salad cut down on the time it took to make this meal, even though the meat entre alone took about 2 hrs (especially being that it was my first ever attempt). I also cut down on most of the ingredients as my roast was a bit smaller. Lastly, I used dried mushrooms and rehydrated them with the white wine before making the duxelle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beef_Wellington
History:
Beef Wellington is a preparation of fillet steak coated with pâté (often pâté de foie gras) and duxelles, which is then wrapped in puff pastry and baked. Some recipes include wrapping the coated meat in a crêpe to retain the moisture and prevent it making the pastry soggy.
A whole tenderloin may be wrapped and baked, and then sliced for serving, or the tenderloin may be sliced into individual portions prior to wrapping and baking. Many spices may be added to enhance the flavour; some examples are curry, allspice, any grilling mix or ginger.
Naming:
The origin of the name is unclear.[1] One theory is that beef Wellington is named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. Some[who?] have suggested this was due to his love of a dish of beef, truffles, mushrooms, Madeira wine, and pâté cooked in pastry, but there is no evidence to say for sure.[clarification needed] Other accounts simply credit the name to a patriotic chef wanting to give an English name to a variation on the French filet de bœuf en croûte during the Napoleonic Wars. Still another theory is that the dish is not named after the Duke himself, but rather that the finished joint was thought to resemble one of the brown shiny military boots which were named after him [2].
"Wellington" is sometimes informally used to describe other dishes in which meat is baked in a puff pastry; the most common variations are sausage Wellington, lamb Wellington and salmon Wellington.
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2538/beef-wellington
Ingredients:
a good beef fillet (preferably Aberdeen Angus) of around 1kg
3 tbsp olive oil
250g chestnut mushrooms , include some wild ones if you like
50g butter
1 large sprig fresh thyme
100ml dry white wine
12 slices prosciutto
500g pack puff pastry , thawed if frozen
a little flour , for dusting
2 egg yolks beaten with 1 tsp water
Recipe:
1.Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Sit the beef on a roasting tray, brush with 1 tbsp olive oil and season with pepper, then roast for 15 mins for medium-rare or 20 mins for medium. When the beef is cooked to your liking, remove from the oven to cool, then chill in the fridge for about 20 mins.
2.While the beef is cooling, chop the mushrooms as finely as possible so they have the texture of coarse breadcrumbs. You can use a food processor to do this, but make sure you pulse-chop the mushrooms so they don't become a slurry.
3.Heat 2 tbsp of the oil and all the butter in a large pan and fry the mushrooms on a medium heat, with the thyme sprig, for about 10 mins stirring often, until you have a softened mixture. Season the mushroom mixture, pour over the wine and cook for about 10 mins until all the wine has been absorbed. The mixture should hold its shape when stirred. Remove the mushroom duxelle from the pan to cool and discard the thyme.
4.Overlap two pieces of cling film over a large chopping board. Lay the prosciutto on the cling film, slightly overlapping, in a double row. Spread half the duxelles over the prosciutto, then sit the fillet on it and spread the remaining duxelles over. Use the cling film's edges to draw the prosciutto around the fillet, then roll it into a sausage shape, twisting the ends of cling film to tighten it as you go. Chill the fillet while you roll out the pastry.
5.Roll out a third of the pastry to a 18 x 30cm strip and place on a non-stick baking sheet. Roll out the remaining pastry to about 28 x 36cm. Unravel the fillet from the cling film and sit it in the centre of the smaller strip of pastry and brush the pastry's edges, and the top and sides of the wrapped fillet, with beaten egg yolk. Using a rolling pin, carefully lift and drape the larger piece of pastry over the fillet, pressing well into the sides. Trim the joins to about a 4cm rim. Seal the rim with the edge of a fork or spoon handle. Glaze all over with more egg yolk and, using the back of a knife, mark the beef Wellington with long diagonal lines taking care not to cut into the pastry. Chill for at least 30 mins and up to 24 hrs.
6.Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Brush the Wellington with a little more egg yolk and cook until golden and crisp - 20-25 mins for medium-rare beef, 30 mins for medium. Allow to stand for 10 mins before serving in thick slices.
Tips:
Trim carefully
Lower the chances of the edges separating by giving yourself lots of room - and don't trim the pastry too close to the meat.
Keep it air-free
Drape over the top layer of pastry very carefully, smoothing it down with your hands as you go. You don't want any air trapped between the pastry and the meat.
Use up leftover pastry
Any leftover pastry is fine to use for something else, even if covered in egg. Simply roll it into a ball and refrigerate until needed.
Gordon's tips
Brush the meat as well as the pastry with egg wash. This will make the top layer of pastry stick to the meat and stop it from rising and leaving a gap.
Sealing the pastry
Use the rounded end of a fork or spoon handle to seal the edges rather than the prongs of a fork - using the prongs will only pierce the pastry rather than joining it.
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