Beef Wellington

An absolute showstopper, Beef Wellington is a perfect dish for Sunday lunch. Based on a classic recipe but with a twist, this recipe by celebrated chef Paul Ainsworth of Mahé incorporates a sausage and mushroom mixture, which surrounds the beef for extra moisture.

Method

For the mushroom and sausage mix

1. In a large sauté pan covered with a lid, on a medium heat (no 6 on a Miele Induction Hob), gently sweat the onions and herbs in the butter with a couple of pinches of salt and pepper.

2. Once the onions are translucent and soft, remove the lid and increase the heat to no 8. Add the garlic and cook for 20 seconds, stirring constantly to reduce the liquid from the onions and cook out the raw garlic.

3. Add the finely chopped mushrooms and cook for a further 10 minutes on no 8, stirring all the time until cooked through and all the moisture has evaporated.

4. Add the chopped herbs and leave to cool slightly before adding to your sausage meat to make a mushroom and sausage mix. Cling film and place into a fridge to cool completely.

For the beef fillet

1. Season the fillet by lightly rubbing vegetable oil onto the beef and season with salt and pepper.

2. Pre-heat a large frying pan on setting no 9 and sear the beef for no longer than 2 minutes.

3. Place onto an oven tray and brush with the English mustard and leave to cool while you roll out the puff pastry.

4. Ensure the pastry is rolled out to a thickness of 2mm and is roughly 30cm long by 35cm wide.

To Assemble

1. Place the mushroom and sausage mix between two sheets of baking paper and roll out to the same width as the beef and (about 30 cm wide).

2. Remove the top sheet of baking paper and place the beef on top of the sausage and mushroom mix. Wrap the rolled mixture around the beef, completely encasing the beef in the sausage and mushroom mixture to form a barrel shape.

3. Wrap the beef barrel in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge.

4. Next, lay the slices of Parma ham down on a clean surface, overlapping each piece while ensuring it is approximately the same size as the sausage mix.

5. Wrap the Parma ham around your beef and sausage barrel, tucking in the edges. Re-wrap again in cling film and chill in the fridge.

6. Roll your pastry to 15cm x 30cm and ½ cm thick and brush the pastry with the egg wash.

7. Remove the cling film from the beef, then wrap the pastry around each ham-wrapped fillet. Firmly press the overlap of pastry to seal in the beef and tuck the edges underneath.

8. Trim the pastry and brush all over with the egg wash.

Cooking the Beef Wellington

1. Place the assembled Beef Wellington onto a tray lined with greaseproof paper.

2. Using a small knife, gently score the pastry with whatever pattern you choose, or for a different decorative effect roll out some more puff pastry to 2mm thickness and using a lattice cutter make a pattern and stretch this over the pastry, sealing the edges in at the base.

3. Brush with the remaining egg yolk and leave to rest in the fridge. Preheat a Miele Oven to 200°c on the Fan Plus setting.

4. Cook for 10 minutes on baking parchment to set the pastry. Then, remove from the paper and place directly onto an oven rack and cook for a further 10-15 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and dry all around. Using a probe thermometer the core temperature should be around 40°c to 43c .

5. Leave to rest for at least 15-20 minutes before carving it at the table with a little red wine sauce and vegetable of your choice.

Celebrated chef, Paul Ainsworth recently opened his fourth venture in Padstow, the Mahé Cookery School and Chef’s Table. Read more here in our interview with Paul.