The Beef Wellington

Christmas 2010 (Sebastiano's first christmas) would not have been complete if i never made the feast special!

I went to the butcher and i purchased my 5lbs fillet steak that was so big and for ten minutes i was staring at my oven hoping the fairy godmother would make my oven magically expand for me.

After preparing the elegant monstrosity of meat, it was ready for the "toasting"!

The composing of the Beef Wellington was about to begin......

Ingredients:

(serves 8-10)

• A good fillet of Beef (5lbs)
• olive oil
• 500g mushrooms
• 1tbsp Mustard and 1tsp Honey (mixed together)
• 2 clove Garlic
• Dry Thyme
• 8 slices prosciutto
• Puff pastry, jus' roll x 2
• 2 egg yolks beaten with 1 tsp milk

1/ First prepare your beef by trimming off any straggling bits of fat.

Season with salt and pepper.

2/ in a large frying pan heat up your oil and start by searing all sides and ends of your fillet.

I like my meat to be cooked rare so i only seared it for a few minutes each side.

3/ As soon as your fillet is out of the pan, brush it with the honey mustard mixture as while your meat cools down it will absorb the flavours.

4/ While the flavours are absorbing with your cooling meat prepare your mushroom mixture. In a food processor add your mushrooms with 2 garlic cloves and some salt.

Once this has processed together in a DRY HOT pan add your mushroom mixture with a sprinkling of thyme and the heat will take out the water. This process took me around 10 minutes.

5/ Overlap two pieces of cling film over a large chopping board. Lay the prosciutto on the cling film, slightly overlapping, in a double row. Spread the mushroom mixture over the prosciutto, then sit the fillet on top. Use the cling film's edges to draw the prosciutto around the fillet, then roll it into a sausage shape, twisting the ends of cling film to tighten it as you go. Pop the cling-filmed fillet in the fridge to chill, this help keeps the shape for when you are rolling with the pastry.

6/ Roll out the pastry and place onto another strip of cling film. Make sure it is big enough to fit your fillet. Unravel the fillet from the cling film and sit in the pastry. Using the Cling-film, let it guide you into rolling the pastry round the fillet, similar to like you did in stage 5. Seal the ends and again place in the Fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes. I prepared my wellington the night before which meant on the day of my christmas lunch i had less to prepare on the actual day.

7/ When it is time to cook bring your wellington out the fridge around 30 minutes before and turn your oven to 200 degrees (fan oven). Unwrap from the clingfilm and place on a very lightly oiled baking tray.

This is the time to make a small design with the knife. Brush all over with the egg yolks and milk mixture.

7/ Because i made a large Wellington i placed it in the oven for 50 minutes!

I hadnt over seared the meat which meant once the pastry was brown and crispy and i cut into it the beef wellington was perfectly pink in the middle!

Perfect for my Fennel Mash potato.