Beef Wellington

Ingredients

• 1.2kg centre-cut beef fillet, trimmed and tied
• 500g all-butter puff pastry
• 600g chestnut mushrooms
• 3 shallots, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 60ml dry Madeira or brandy
• 30g butter
• 12 slices Parma ham or thin-sliced prosciutto
• 2 tbsp English mustard
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 sprigs thyme, leaves picked
• 2 egg yolks beaten with 1 tbsp milk
• Flaky sea salt
• Coarsely ground black pepper

Before you cook

• Take the beef out of the fridge one hour ahead and pat it completely dry with kitchen paper.
• Tie the fillet at 4cm intervals with butcher's string so it holds an even cylinder.
• Season the beef all over with salt and plenty of coarse black pepper.
• Wipe the mushrooms clean and blitz them in a food processor in batches until they resemble coarse crumbs.
• Finely chop the shallots and crush the garlic.

Steps

1. Set a heavy frying pan over the highest heat until it is smoking, then add the olive oil.
2. Lay the fillet in the pan and sear it for ninety seconds without moving it.
3. Turn the fillet a quarter turn and sear again, repeating until all four sides and both ends are dark brown, about six minutes total.
4. Lift the beef onto a rack and leave it to cool completely, which takes about thirty minutes.
5. Wipe out the pan, set it over medium heat and melt the butter.
6. Add the shallots and cook for four minutes until translucent.
7. Tip in the chopped mushrooms with the garlic and thyme and a good pinch of salt.
8. Cook the mushrooms for twenty to twenty-five minutes, stirring often, until every drop of liquid has evaporated and the mixture holds its shape like a thick paste.
9. Pour in the Madeira and cook for three more minutes until the pan is dry again.
10. Spread the duxelles on a plate and chill it until cold, about twenty minutes in the fridge.
11. Lay a large sheet of cling film on the worktop and arrange the ham slices on it in two overlapping rows, forming a rectangle wide enough to wrap the fillet.
12. Spread the cold duxelles evenly over the ham, leaving a 2cm border along the far edge.
13. Snip off the string from the beef and brush the fillet all over with the English mustard.
14. Lay the beef along the near edge of the ham and use the cling film to roll it up into a tight cylinder.
15. Twist the ends of the cling film like a cracker to compress the parcel, then chill it for thirty minutes.
16. Roll the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 3mm thick and large enough to enclose the parcel with a little overlap.
17. Unwrap the chilled beef parcel and set it on the near edge of the pastry.
18. Brush the exposed pastry with egg wash.
19. Roll the pastry over the beef and press the seam firmly, then trim away any thick excess.
20. Tuck the pastry ends under like a parcel and press to seal.
21. Wrap the whole Wellington tightly in fresh cling film and chill for at least thirty minutes to set the shape.
22. Heat the oven to 200C fan and put a baking tray inside to get hot.
23. Unwrap the Wellington, set it seam side down on a sheet of baking paper and brush it all over with egg wash.
24. Score the pastry lightly in a diagonal lattice with the back of a knife, cutting no deeper than the top layer.
25. Sprinkle the pastry with flaky sea salt.
26. Slide the Wellington on its paper onto the hot tray and roast for thirty-five to forty minutes.
27. Push a probe thermometer into the centre of the beef; it should read 52C for rare or 57C for medium rare.
28. Rest the Wellington on a board for fifteen minutes before carving into thick slices with a serrated knife.