Traditional English Christmas Recipe: Beef Wellington
When it comes to Christmas and the holiday season, food has always played a pivotal role in these celebrations. Whether it is to celebrate winter coming to an end, a particular religious holiday, or simply to congratulate ourselves for making it through another year of hard work, the end of year feast for the English is a long-awaited and much-celebrated occasion!
Most of these celebratory dinners and lunches are focused around a roast; whether it’s duck or goose, chicken or beef, gammon or lamb, the roast looks to be becoming a little predictable. If you need an exciting alternative, with tender meat and explosive flavours, try this Beef Wellington with a little Christmas twist…
Ingredients - Beef Wellington:
- 800g beef fillet
- 100g walnuts
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 500g mixed/wild mushrooms
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 500g puff pastry
- 8 large slices of black forest ham
- 2 egg yolks
- 3 tsp hot English mustard
- 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
For the Red Wine Reduction Sauce:
- Trimmings from the beef fillet
- 1 tsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 750ml of dry red wine
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 sprig of thyme
- ½ cup of beef stock
Method:
- Trim the fat from the beef fillet and keep in a sealed ziplock bag in the fridge.
- Tightly wrap the beef fillet in cling wrap so it’s evenly thick, leave in the fridge overnight to set its shape.
- Heat the olive oil in a pan on a high heat. Quickly sear the meat on all sides including the ends and remove from the pan. Brush the fillet with a thin layer of hot English mustard and put to the side.
- Using a food processor or hand-held blender blitz the mushrooms, walnuts, thyme and cinnamon together. Move the mushroom mixture over to a dry pan and cook over a high heat until all the juices have evaporated from the mixture. Remove from heat and leave to cool.
- Pull cling wrap over your workspace without breaking it off from the roll and lay the black forest ham down on the cling wrap with the edges of the ham slightly overlapping. Spread the mushroom and walnut mixture in a thin layer over the ham and then place beef fillet on top.
- Lift the edge of the cling wrap and carefully roll the ham and mushroom mixture over the beef fillet to create a log. Make sure that the ham and mushroom mixture completely enclose the fillet before breaking the cling wrap off from the roll. Tightly tie the side ends like a sweet wrapper to create a tight evenly thick log, then allow to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- While the fillet is resting, roll the pastry out into a large enough rectangle to completely cover the meat log on a sheet of cling wrap. Unwrap the meat log and gently place at the edge of the pastry. Using the cling wrap, gently roll the pastry around the ham, mushrooms and beef fillet and seal all the ends. Leave to chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- When you are ready to cook the Beef Wellington, preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Brush the Wellington with the egg yolks and lightly score the pastry to create any desired pattern. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry turns a golden brown.
- It is very important to allow the Wellington to rest for 10 minutes before serving as this allows the meat to be in prime serving conditions.
Method for the Red Wine Reduction Sauce:
This red wine sauce should be in everyone’s personal recipe list. It’s the perfect companion for beef, lamb and game recipes and offers delicate wine flavours with a velvety texture. Simply swap out the fillet trimming for any trimming from the meat you will be serving the sauce with.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the olive oil and beef fillet trimmings over a medium heat until they begin to brown.
- Stir in the thyme, pepper, salt, garlic, and bay leaf and let the flavours and aromas marry together for about 3 minutes or until beautifully fragrant.
- Turn the heat down to low and gently pour in the wine and sugar. Allow the sauce to simmer and reduce until about a quarter remains.
- Add the stock and leave to simmer for 30 minutes, removing any scum that forms on the top. Check the flavour and add more salt, pepper, or sugar depending on your personal preference. Strain through a fine sieve and serve warm.
As with all recipes, so long as you follow the basic principles, there’s no law to changing up some of the ingredients for flavours you may prefer. The only rule is to enjoy the food you prepare with the people you love and celebrate this festive season with a delicious meal.
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29 Oct 2018
Author Lillian Rencken