Recipe: Beef Wellington
My dear friend, Matt, often likes to ask culinary questions in the most philosophical way possible, such as, if there is one quintessential food that is the best food at Thanksgiving, that without this Thanksgiving dinner wouldn’t be Thanksgiving dinner, what would it be?
Watching him endure people answering mashed potatoes is hysterical. He wants to burst forth from the seams and say we have mashed potatoes all the frickin time! What makes Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving?! I admit, I’m on his side here. The quintessential food at Thanksgiving is either Stuffing (my choice / also his), Turkey, or something with pumpkin, everything else is negotiable.
But this year, he turned the question to Christmas and that got me thinking… what does my family do for Christmas tradition? We actually have never really had a traditional dinner on Christmas. I have cooked the Italian feast of the seven fishes. One of my favorite dishes is lobster ravioli with a tarragon butter sauce. We have done roasts from prime rib (not my mother’s favorite) to a pork crown roast. I’ve done coq au vin. Last year, I did seared fish with gnocchi. But Matt’s question got me thinking… I don’t have a traditional Christmas dinner. So, I, in turn, asked him what about his family? He informed me, Beef Wellington.
Beef Wellington is such a great dish. One that really does signal special occasions. I usually do individual Wellingtons with a filet mignon wrapped in puff pastry for each person. They are cheaper than buying a tenderloin. There are tons of recipes out there, but this is a dish for the decadent. So many people are turning away because of the moral implications from foie gras. I totally understand, but I love foie gras and it is traditional in this recipe. It provides a depth and richness missing in so many Beef Wellingtons.
This is what I made for Christmas this year. A really simple dish with a salad tossed with vinegar just to cut through the richness of the Wellington.
Ingredients:
1 8-inch piece of beef tenderloin with the chain removed
1 lb of cremini mushrooms
½ lb of oyster mushrooms
½ lb of shitake mushrooms
1 shallot
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of olive oil
½ cup of white wine
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 package of puff pastry, thawed, 2 sheets
2 eggs
½ lb of foie gras pate
Salt and Pepper
Peanut Oil
Gravy:
Ideally 2 cups of homemade beef stock, store will do
1 sprig of thyme
½ sprig of rosemary
1 bayleaf
½ cup sherry
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of flour
Salt and pepper
Salad:
A hearty green that will hold up, I usually use frisee
1 lemon
1 teaspoon champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
Begin by pulsing the mushrooms in a food processor until they are almost a paste. Finely chopped is very important. They are supposed to cook down into a paste. Then set aside.
Finely dice a shallot and mince the garlic. Take a large skillet and place on the stove, bringing it to medium high heat. Add butter and olive oil. When the butter is melted, add the shallot and garlic, and saute for 5-8 mins until soft. Add mushrooms and chopped fresh thyme, salt and pepper. Stir immediately. If more oil is needed, add more. Cook mushrooms over medium high heat for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned and beginning to fall apart. At this point, add in the white wine and then reduce till gone and the mushrooms have melted into a paste. Remove from the heat and add in the fresh parsley stirring. Let cool, perhaps even overnight.
Once the mushroom mixture is cool, place a skillet on the stove and bring to high heat. Take the beef tenderloin, removing the chain and freezing for later, and roll the center cut in salt and pepper. This needs to be well seasoned. Put a drizzle of peanut oil, or other flavorless oil, into the pan. It should almost smoke. Add in tenderloin. Sear on each side for about 2 mins or until well browned. Once all side are brown, remove and allow to cool. It must come to room temperature before you begin with the puff pastry.
Deglaze with a little sherry off of the stove and then return to the stove and scrap the fond off the bottom of the skillet. Pour this mixture into a bowl. You will use it in the gravy.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Once you are ready, flour a large board and unfold a sheet of puff pastry. Using a rolling pin, roll the pastry slightly thinner and eliminate any seams. Then, crack 2 eggs into a bowl and whisk together until homogeneous. Using a pastry brush, brush the puff pastry sheet with the egg. Then, along where the beef will rest, spread a layer of the mushroom paste. It should not go to the edges as you will be placing another piece of pastry on top.
Then, roll out the second piece of puff pastry. Brush with egg as well. Then, press the foie gras pate into a thin layer just like you did the mushrooms. Take the piece of pastry with the foie gras and lay it over the other sheet completely covering the beef tenderloin. Then using a knife, cut the excess away and press down with a fork to seal it.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 - 30 mins.
While the Beef Wellington is roasting, bring a small sauce pot to medium heat on the stove. Add the tablespoon of butter and flour and using a wooden spoon, cook until it becomes a pale paste. This is called a roux. You just want to cook it for a few mins, do not brown. Then add in the sherry, the drippings from the other pan, and beef stock, stirring, now, with a whisk. Add in herbs, salt, and pepper. Stir with a whisk and bring to a boil. Then, reduce to a simmer and reduce until it is thickened to your liking.
Take the Beef Wellington out of the oven and let it sit to rest at least ten minutes.
While doing that, take a large bowl and squeeze half of the lemon juice in and then add the champagne vinegar and olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk until it comes together. Add in greens and toss.
Carve the Wellington into slices and drizzle with gravy, placing salad on the side.
Serve.
