Beef Wellington
SERVES 4-6 // PREP TIME 50 MINS // COOK 1 HR (PLUS COOLING, SETTING, RESTING)
200 gm pork caul fat (see note)
1 kg centre-cut beef fillet, trimmed,
at room temperature (see note)
1 sheet (375gm) frozen spelt butter puff pastry (see note), thawed
1 bunch silverbeet (600gm), trimmed,
leaves blanched, refreshed, drained
1 egg, plus 2 yolks, lightly beaten
300 ml packet red wine jus (see note)
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Steamed green beans and mixed baby salad leaves, to serve
DUXELLES
20 gm dried porcini, soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes, drained
200 gm mixed mushrooms, such as Swiss brown, button, and portobello, coarsely chopped
20 gm pitted Kalamata olives
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
20 gm butter, coarsely chopped
2 golden shallots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
80 ml (1/3 cup) Pedro Ximénez Sherry
2 tsp each thyme and tarragon, finely chopped, plus extra thyme for scattering
50 gm duck liver pâté
Step by step
1 Place caul fat in a large bowl of cold water; soak for 1 hour. Rinse well under running water. Drain and dry well with paper towel. Open out caul fat and lay on a large oven tray covered with a clean damp tea towel until required.
2 For duxelles, place soaked and fresh mushrooms with olives in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Heat oil and butter in a large frying pan over high heat; cook shallots and garlic, stirring occasionally, until shallots begin to soften (4 minutes).
Add mushroom mixture; cook, stirring frequently, until starting to colour (5 minutes). Deglaze pan with sherry and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring frequently, until mixture is dry and begins to catch on base of pan (10 minutes). Transfer to a bowl, add herbs, pâté, and season to taste; stir to combine. Refrigerate until cooled.
3 Preheat oven to 200˚C. Drizzle a large frying pan with oil and heat over high heat. Season beef then sear in pan, turning occasionally, until browned all over (4-6 minutes). Place on a large oven tray lined with baking paper and roast for 10 minutes; set aside to cool.
4 Roll pastry sheet on baking paper to a 35cm x 45cm rectangle. Transfer pastry on paper to an oven tray, cover and refrigerate until required.
5 Pat dry silverbeet with paper towel and place flat, slightly overlapping, on a large chopping board to form a rectangle large enough to wrap around and enclose beef. Spread duxelles over top of beef, then place beef, horizontally on silverbeet; roll tightly to enclose beef in silverbeet.
6 On a separate large chopping board, stretch caul fat out and cut to form a rectangle large enough to wrap and enclose beef. Trim excess and discard remaining caul fat. Place beef horizontally on caul fat, roll to enclose and fold in ends to seal. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap to form an approximately 25cm log; freeze for 30 minutes to set in shape.
7 Slide pastry on baking paper onto a work surface and position horizontally in front of you. Unwrap beef and place, duxelles-side down, horizontally in middle of pastry. Brush edges of pastry with eggwash, fold long edges over beef, roll tightly, slightly overlapping edges and press to seal. Trim short edges and brush with eggwash; fold up to seal. Transfer, seam-side down to a large oven tray lined with baking paper. Brush all over with eggwash and freeze for 10 minutes; repeat with eggwash twice more. Make two small slits on either end of Wellington to allow steam to escape while cooking.
8 Score pastry in a 2cm cross-hatch pattern, season to taste and scatter with extra thyme leaves.
Bake, rotating tray halfway through cooking time, until pastry is golden and puffed, and beef is cooked to mediumrare (30 minutes); rest for 30 minutes before carving.
9 Meanwhile, place jus and mustard in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil (6-8 minutes); season to taste. To serve, place beef Wellington on a large platter and serve with mustard jus, steamed beans and mixed baby leaves on the side. Carve as desired.
Note Caul fat, the fatty membrane between a pig’s stomach and diaphragm, can be ordered from your butcher. Centre-cut beef fillet is a beef tenderloin trimmed to remove the wider head and narrow tail end to create an even piece. Red wine jus is available from select supermarkets and butchers. We use Carême spelt butter puff pastry, available from select supermarkets and online.