Beef Wellington

A "Wellington" is basically a filet of beef, covered with a potted mushroom paste ("duxelles"), and baked in a puff pastry crust (filet de bœuf en croûte). Sometimes the beef is first covered with duck or goose liver pâté (pâté de foie gras). The "duxelles" consists of finely chopped mushrooms, onions and/or shallots, and herbs, that are sautéed in butter and reduced to a pasty consistency. It all dates back to the 17^th century. Wellingtons are also made with other meats or even fish, such as my duck breast wellington and salmon wellington - though with a paste not made of mushrooms.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 5 minutes
Makes 4 servings.

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients for the potted mushrooms:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup minced shallots
1/3 cup minced leeks, white parts only
2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1-2 teaspoons of minced garlic paste)
500 grams (18 oz) of cleaned regular white button "Parisian" mushrooms, stems removed, finely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme)
1 tablespoon finely snipped fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Ingredients for the beef:
4 tournedos, or pieces of tenderloin steak or filet mignon of beef - about 175 grams (6 ounces) each
"filet mignon" is a French term, but in France typically only used for pork.
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crumbled
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
Potted mushrooms (see list of ingredients above)
2 sheets of puff pastry dough (round or rectangular, at least 30 cm / 10 inch wide or across)

EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES

frying pan or skillet
baking sheet / over tray
small bowl
medium size bowl
brush (for putting egg wash on the puff pastry)

PREPARATION / DIRECTIONS

Instructions for the potted mushrooms:
Melt 3-4 tablespoons of the butter in the frying pan or skillet
Stir in the shallots, leeks, and garlic
Cook over low heat until translucent (5 minutes)
Add the mushrooms and thyme; cook, stirring occasionally until the mushroom liquid has evaporated and the mixture is barely moist (10 minutes)
Season with the chives, salt, and pepper
Transfer the mixture to a bowl
Important: make sure to get rid of all the juices, or the puff pasty on the beef won't cook right. You may have to put the mushroom mixture in a cheese cloth and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.

Instructions for the beef:
Pre-heat the oven to 220 °C (425 °F)
In a small bowl, mix the pepper, salt, and thyme
Rub the beef on all sides with the mustard, then sprinkle with the spice mix
Melt the butter in the frying pan or skillet
When the butter is quite hot, sear the tournedos on all sides (4-5 minutes)
Cool to room temperature
Arrange the tournedos on a baking sheet
Cover them with potted mushrooms
Cut two circles of 10-15 cm (4-5 inch) of puff pastry dough - big enough to drape over the meat, but not all the way down
Drape a pastry dough circle over each tournedos, and pinch the edges in four or five places to enclose the tournedos
Blend the egg and milk, brush this glaze over the pastry
If desired, decorate the tops with cutouts made from pastry trimming
Bake 5 minutes for medium-rare
Serve immediately! (preferably on heated plates)

NOTES

Rather than making individual servings, you can make a single long Wellington, as described here.