Beef Wellington
A national hero for defeating Napoelon at Waterloo in 1815 , Arthur Wellesley was named Duke of Wellington. Apparently he loved this dish of beef cooked in pastry, which has been named in his honor.
1 whole tenderloin,
beef (center cut, 4-5 pounds)
trimmed, and tied with a kitchen string to form an even roll.
salt, pepper, mustard
1/4 cup oil
DUXELLE
4 oz butter
1 cup red onions, chopped fine
4 cups mushrooms, chopped fine
1 teaspoon garlic, chopped fine
1/4 cup parsley
1/4 cup cognac
6 oz fois gras or liver pate
salt and white pepper
2 pounds frozen puff pastry or filo dough
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water for egg-wash
Preheat the over to 450 degrees
Trim and tie the tenderloin with a kitchen string into a roll. Season with salt
and pepper. Add the oil to a roasting pan and heat in the oven. When hot, sear
the meat in the oven on all sides until the tenderloin is sealed and browned on
all sides. About 5 minutes on each side.
Reduce the heat to 350 and roast the filet for 20 minutes. While roasting, turn
the meat several times and baste with the natural juices. Remove from oven and
let the tenderloin cool in the refrigerator. When cold, remove the string.
DUXELLES: Heat butter in casserole and saute the onion until translucent
and add the mushrooms. Saute the mushrooms until all the liquid is cooked out.
Add parsley, pate and cognac. Continue stirring for another two minutes until
the mixture forms a paste. Season with salt, pepper and tarragon. Refrigerate
for one hour or more before using.
Roll out the puff pastry in a square 1/8 of an inch thick. Cover the puff pastry
with the duxelle (1/4 inch thick) and set the filet on top. Leave the ends of
the dough free of duxelle and brush the ends with egg wash. Roll the dough around
the filet and press seam to seal. Fold the shorter ends over and press firmly
to seal so the juice stays inside while baking. Set a large baking sheet on top
of the wellington and invert the wellington onto the baking sheet so the pastry
seam is face down on the baking sheet.
Decorate the dough with thin cut outs of extra dough. Make small steam vents every
3 inches in the top of the dough with a small knife. Brush the whole piece with
egg-wash. Refrigerate the beef for one hour before roasting.
Bake the wellington in the over at 450 for one hour (medium rare). If the wellington
browns too much on top cover with foil to bake evenly. Remove from the oven and
let rest uncovered for 15 minutes before slicing into 8 slices. It will continue
to cook.
Set up on hot plate with mushroom cream sauce and fresh vegetables.
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