Cookery Elisabeth Luard

BEEF WELLINGTON

The French, it’s fair to assume, would like nothing better than to see Les Rosbifs head for Le Brexit. The underlying message of the culinary insult – roast beef is primitive stuff fit only for barbarians – is traditionally countered with reference to the nether parts of frogs. Both insults are past their sell-by date. Rana esculenta has already been eaten to near-extinction in the French countryside, while on the tables of Old England, the Sunday roast has been replaced with chicken tikka masala.

Up to a point. We still have our national pride. Beef Wellington, anyone?

Beef Wellington for two

The original recipe – a luxurious dish of best British beef wrapped in Gallic paté de foie gras encased in a shiny pastry boot – was devised to celebrate the great Duke’s victory over Boney at Waterloo. Marguerite Patten simplified the recipe in the 1960s for the cook-hostess as a dinner-party dish allowing preparation in advance followed by finishing on demand. Time for revival, I think. This version serves 2–3.

400g beef fillet in one piece Salt and freshly crushed pepper

About 50g butter About 250g brown-cap mushrooms,

finely chopped 1 shallot or small onion, finely-chopped 2 tbsp double cream 1 tsp English mustard 4 slices Parma ham 100g chicken liver paté 1 packet ready-rolled puff pastry

(about 350g) 1 small egg forked with a little milk Preheat the oven to 400F/200C/GAS 6.

Heat a scrap of the butter in a roomy frying-pan, season the meat and brown the outside briefly. Remove and allow to cool. Reheat the pan, add the rest of the butter and fry the mushrooms and onions gently together till they lose all their water and begin to sizzle. Season, add the cream and mustard and bubble up till the mixture is reduced to a thickish paste. Set aside to cool.

Spread out a length of clingfilm large enough to wrap the beef fillet. Cover the clingfilm with a layer of overlapping ham-slices (to keep the pastry isolated from the filling) and spread with the cooled mushroom-mix. Spread the beef fillet with a thin layer of paté and place it on the mushrooms. Bring up the sides of the clingfilm to enclose the fillet in a jacket of mushroom and ham. Twist the ends of the clingfilm to secure the package and put it in the fridge for 10 minutes or so to firm and set.

Meanwhile, roll out the pastry to a rectangle of a suitable size and shape for wrapping the package. Dampen the edges of the pastry, unwrap the meat and roll it up in its jacket, tucking the pastry ends underneath. Place the package in a roasting tin seam-side downwards, and brush with the egg-and-milk to give the pastry a shine. Refrigerate till needed, taking care to bring the package up to room temperature before transfer to the oven.

Bake for 35–40 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fillet), reducing the heat to 300F/150C/GAS 3 after 15 minutes if the pastry looks like burning. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing into thick medallions. Serve with a hank of watercress and a warm Cumberland sauce. Learn how to cook the perfect Mediterranean lunch with Elisabeth Luard: see page 41 for details.