Beef Wellington for 2 - a Saturday night treat! (Meat)

Member Name: marymoose

Product:	Meat
Date:	03/02/08 (236 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tastes divine, simpler than some other Beef Wellington Recipes

Disadvantages: Lots of calories. steak can be expensive

Beef Wellington for two

Wanting to try something different and have a bit of a treat on a Saturday night, hubby and I decided to have Beef Wellington. This was made using a combination of recipes as it seemed impossible to find one which would meet our needs.


*General Information*

Serves 2
Preparation time - About 45 minutes (then add at least half an hour for it to chill - or leave for up to a day when preparing in advance))
Cooking time - About 20 minutes
Probably doesn't freeze very well.
Calories - a lot!!!


*Ingredients for the Beef Wellington*

1 fillet or tail end steak (14oz) or 2 smaller ones
1 small egg
Half a slab of ready made puff pastry (we had to use a whole slab as we'd frozen them whole)
Half a packet of Parma ham
A small packet of mushrooms - we used Shiitake, but normal mushrooms are fine
½ tablespoon finely chopped parsley leaves
¼ tablespoon dried thyme
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 shallot - finely chopped
1 tablespoon butter
Salt & Pepper
Olive oil


*For the sauce*

1 shallot
¼ cup brandy
¼ cup double cream
½ tablespoon butter
Peppercorns - crushed
Salt


*How to make*

1.Coat steaks (which should be at room temperature) with a small amount of olive oil, and season with salt & pepper.

2.Heat olive oil in frying pan and sear steak(s) for 1-2 minutes on either side (until slightly brown and crisp). Do not overcook the steak, unless you want a cremated Wellington. This recipe assumes that the Wellington will be medium when done (although I'm a rare steak person at heart, not for this!) Cover steak(s) and put in fridge.

3.Remove excess oil from frying pan and add butter to the pan. Put in the chopped shallot and crushed garlic and sauté for roughly 3 minutes, until softened. Add the mushrooms which should be chopped to your liking - I kept the slices fairly thick, but hubby would've preferred them chopped smaller. Add thyme, parsley, and salt & pepper. Cook until mushrooms are lightly browned and any liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and put mixture into a bowl.

4.On a lightly floured surface roll out the puff pastry into a square approximately 12 inch square (if you want individual ones, roll into two half-sized squares).

5.Leaving an inch all round the edge, place slices of Parma ham onto the puff pastry.

6.When the mushroom mixture has cooled completely cover (you'll probably want to wait for 20 minutes or so) the Parma ham with it.

7.Put the chilled steak on top of the mushroom mixture and press down gently.

8.Take two opposite corners and wrap them over the steak, overlapping them. Seal with beaten egg. Repeat with the other corners - it should look like an envelope.

9.Place on a baking tray on greaseproof paper. Now referring back to the original recipe it says to place it seam side down. However, I didn't do this - so I guess it doesn't matter in the slightest! Brush the Wellington with beaten egg.

10.Cover loosely and put in the fridge. Now, we only put it in the fridge for half an hour - the original recipe said between an hour and a day. This would be useful for preparing in advance for a dinner party. However, we didn't have time to wait as we were hungry.

11.In an oven pre-heated to 220 Celsius (430 Fahrenheit, Gas Mark 7), bake the Wellington for 15-20 minutes. When you turn the oven on will depend upon how long you are waiting for before cooking (this is common sense really!)

12.Take out and leave to rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile make the sauce.

13.In a frying pan melt the butter, add shallots, crushed peppercorns (and a touch of salt), and sauté until onions are soft. Add the brandy - either do what hubby did and set the pan on fire (scaring the life out of me) to burn off the brandy. Alternatively cook until liquid is reduced by half. Add cream and simmer for 2 minutes. Season to taste.

14.Cut Wellington in half (or not if you have made individual ones) and pour sauce over.


We ate our beef Wellington with new potatoes and green beans. Mash and other vegetables would work equally well.

Enjoy!

Summary: A lovely Saturday night treat for two!