Beef Wellington

Nick and I love watching Chef Gordon Ramsay cook on TV, we always make effort to watch his cooking and competition shows when they are on the air. Over the years we have noticed his love for serving Beef Wellington and so when we had the opportunity to eat at his restaurant in Las Vegas, that is exactly what I ordered; especially once I found out it is made with Duxelles (a mushroom blend) rather than liver for the inside. It was so very delicious and so when my parents booked a trip to come visit us in Indiana for Christmas, I knew exactly what I wanted to make them for our special Christmas dinner. This was absolutely delicious and fun to make.

Ingredients:
1-2 lbs beef tenderloin fillet
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Olive oil
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
1 lb. mushrooms (I used cremini and button mushrooms)
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 1/2 oz Port wine (we decided to use Maker's Mark Bourbon instead and it was delicious!)
12 slices prosciutto
1 package puff pastry, thawed
All-purpose flour, to dust
2 egg yolks, beaten

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Heat a fry pan on high heat and add a little olive oil. Season the beef with sea salt and pepper and sear in the hot pan for 30 seconds on all sides. Remove beef from pan and set aside to cool.  Brush the mustard over the beef on all sides. Keep in mind, it was cheaper for us to buy 4 fillets of beef ($30) at Costco instead of a whole beef tenderloin ($100) and so we ended up making 4 individual beef wellingtons instead of one large one (I highly recommend doing one large one because the juices will stay in the puff pastry better and help it to crisp up in the oven).

2.  To prepare Duxelles: Heat a fry pan over medium heat. Add butter and let it melt. Add shallot and saute until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms into a food processor and pulse to a rough paste. Scrape the paste into the fry pan and fry the mushrooms with shallots for about 10 minutes stirring often, until you have a softened aromatic mixture. Pour in the bourbon and cook for about 10 minutes until the juices have reduced and the mushrooms are almost dry. The mixture should hold its shape when stirred. Spread out on a plate to cool.

3. Overlap two pieces of plastic wrap over a large chopping board. Lay the prosciutto on the plastic wrap, slightly overlapping, in a double row. Spread the mushroom mixture evenly over the prosciutto, then place the beef fillet in the middle. Use the plastic wrap edges to draw the prosciutto around the fillet, then roll it into a sausage shape, twisting the ends of plastic wrap to tighten it as you go. Chill the fillet while you roll out the pastry.

4. Place the puff pastry on a floured surface, roll out pastry to 1-2 inches greater than its original size. Remove the plastic wrap from the beef then lay the wrapped beef in the center. Fold the ends over, then wrap the pastry around the beef, trimming any excess, then roll it into a sausage shape, twisting the ends of plastic wrap to tighten it as you go. Chill for at least 15 minutes and up to 24 hours.

5. Remove from refrigerator and turn over so the seam is underneath and place on a baking sheet. Brush the pastry all over with egg yolk.

6. Heat oven to 425°F and cook until golden and crisp, 15-20 minutes for medium-rare beef, 25 minutes for medium. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving in thick slices.

 Recipe adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s Sunday Lunch Cookbook