Beef Wellington
| Serves: 6 | Course: Main | Categories: Beef, Pastry | Cuisine: British | Machine: Food Processor | Total time (min.): 80 |
A classic British dish featuring tender beef fillet encased in a flaky puff pastry.
Ingredients
- 700g-900g (1½-2lb) fillet of beef
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 50g (2oz) butter
- 15ml (1 tbsp) vegetable oil
- 2 onions, quartered
- 175g (6oz) mushrooms
- 280-325g (10-12oz) puff pastry
- 75g (3oz) smooth chicken or duck pâté
- beaten egg, to glaze
- 15ml (1 tbsp) plain flour
- 300ml (½ pint) beef stock
- 150ml (¼ pint) red wine
Tools
- Kitchen Machine
- Food Processing Attachment
Method
- Season the beef with pepper. Melt half the butter in a large frying pan, with the oil; add the beef and fry for 4-5 minutes, turning over to seal the meat. Transfer to a plate and leave to cool.
- Using the Food Processing Attachment, fitted with the knife blade, add the onions and process until finely chopped. Reserve a quarter of the onions and place the remainder in the frying pan and cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes.
- Using the knife blade finely chop the mushrooms and add to the onions. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season and set aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7. On a lightly floured surface roll out the pastry into a rectangle, slightly longer than the beef and almost three times as wide. Mix the onions and mushrooms with the pâté and spread a layer along the top of the meat. Place the remainder in the centre along the length of the pastry to cover the same length as the beef.
- Place the meat on top. Trim away the corners of the pastry and then fold the ends and finally the sides to enclose the meat. Seal the edges and place join side down on a dampened baking sheet.
- Use the pastry trimmings to make leaves to decorate the top of the pastry. Brush with beaten egg and bake for 30 minutes, or until pastry is golden. Cook for a little longer if you prefer the meat less rare.
- Meanwhile melt the remaining butter, fry the remaining onions for 5-6 minutes, and then stir in the flour. Gradually stir in the stock and wine. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously.