INGREDIENTS
16-20 ounces baby bella mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 shallot
6 cloves of garlic
2 or three sprigs of thyme
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil, for cooking
2-pound prime beef fillet tenderloin
1-2 tbsp English mustard
8-12 slices of Prosciutto
2 boxes ready-made puff pastry
flour, to dust
2 egg yolks, beaten
DIRECTIONS
Mushroom Paste
Put the mushrooms into a food processor with a dash of salt and pepper
Add 1 chopped shallot
Add 6 gloves of garlic
Add the leaves from 4 sprigs of thyme
Pulse to a rough paste.
Scrape the paste into a pan
Cook over a high heat for about 10 mins, tossing frequently, to cook out the moisture.
Spread out on a plate to cool.
Prime Beef Filet Tenderloin
Heat in a frying pan and add a little olive oil.
Season the beef tenderloin with salt and pepper on all sides
Sear in a super-hot pan for 30 secs only on each side.
You don’t want to cook it at this stage, just color it.
Remove the beef from the pan and leave to cool.
After 10 to 20 minutes of cooling, brush all over with the mustard.
Beef Wellington
Lay a sheet of cling wrap on a work surface and arrange the prosciutto slices on it, in slightly overlapping rows.
With a palette knife, spread the mushroom paste over the ham, then place the seared beef fillet in the middle.
Keeping a tight hold of the cling wrap from the edge, neatly roll the prosciutto and mushrooms around the beef to form a tight barrel shape.
Twist the ends of the cling film to secure.
Chill for 15-20 mins to allow the beef to set and keep its shape.
Roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface to a large rectangle, about 1/8th inch thickness.
Remove the cling wrap from the beef, then lay in the center.
Brush the surrounding pastry with egg yolk.
Fold the ends over, the wrap the pastry around the beef, cutting off any excess.
Turn over, so the seam is underneath, and place on a baking sheet. Brush over all the pastry with egg and chill for about 15 mins to let the pastry rest.
Lightly score the pastry at 1-inch intervals with a fork and glaze again with beaten egg yolk.
Heat the oven to 400 F.
Bake for 20 minutes, then lower the oven setting to 350 F and cook for another 15 mins.
Allow to rest for 10-15 mins before slicing and serving with the side dishes of your choice.
The beef should still be pink in the center when you serve it.
The internal temperature should be around 120 degrees for medium rare.
