Beef Wellington: a Challenging Recipe

Ingredients: 400 g mushrooms, roughly chopped * salt and freshly ground black pepper * 1–2 tbsp olive oil * 750 g piece of beef tenderloin * 1–2 tbsp English mustard * 500 g ready-made puff pastry, plus more for the top * flour, to dust * 2 egg yolks, beaten

Ionly cook this complicated dish occasionally. But when I do, I make sure I buy beef, and then invite my best friends to dinner.

Season the beef. Place in a frying pan with the oil and fry on all sides, just enough to colour it. Remove and leave to cool. Brush all over with the mustard and chill for 1 hour.

Pulse the mushrooms in a food processor with some seasoning to a rough paste. Put in in a pan and cook for 10 min., tossing frequently. on a plate to cool, then chill for 30 min.

On a dusted work surface roll out the puff pastry into a rectangle with appropriate dimensions to your fillet. Spread the mushroom paste over the pastry that will be in contact with the fillet, then place the beef fillet in the middle. the ends of the pastry and then wrap the pastry around the beef, sealing along the side with some

Turn it over, so the seam is underneath, chill for 30 min.

Transfer the beef Wellington to a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Roll out the remaining pastry and cut into 8 thin strips. Lay 4 strips diagonally across the top, and 4 strips across these to create a lattice pattern. Brush with the remaining egg wash and roast for 35 minutes, until golden and crisp.

Allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving.