Beef Wellington

Beef Wellington

This is a special occasion meal or holiday treat. But it is a showstopper! It is, of course, the ever elegant and mouthwatering entrée, Beef Wellington. Beef, like other meat and poultry, can vary tremendously in  terms of nutritive value and health effects based on the breed and How it is raised. Much like is seen in other circumstances, pastured and grass finished beef has great flavor and is higher in the beneficial anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids.

Ingredients:

• Exotic Mushroom Duxelle (recipe follows)
• Filet mignon or equivalent cut of beef
• Neutral oil like avocado
• Dijon mustard
• Parma ham, sliced thin (4 slices for each filet)
• Foie gras (optional)
• Puff pastry
• Salt and pepper
• Egg wash (1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp. salt and 1 Tbs water)

Exotic Mushroom Duxelle:

• 3 oz dried exotic mushrooms (reconstituted) or 6-8 oz fresh
• 8 oz fresh mushrooms, various varieties
• ½ cup chopped onion
• 1 tbsp chopped shallot
• 1/3 cup white wine
• ¼ cup chopped parsley

Directions:

Liberally season the beef with salt. In a hot pan heat the oil until smoking. Quickly sear off the filet mignon to develop a nice crust, roughly 60-90 seconds per side. Remove from the heat, brush with Dijon mustard, and allow to rest.

For the duxelle, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, sweat the onion and shallot in some  oil, about 2-3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and wine. Cook until all the liquid is reduced, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from the heat and place into a food processor with the parsley. Pulse until you have a finely minced paste.

Folding the Wellington

Lay out a square of cling wrap larger than 4 slices of Parma ham laid out to form a square. Lay the Parma ham out so they form a square. Place the filet upon the ham. Top the filet with the mushroom duxelle, and foie gras if desired. Wrap tightly and secure the cling wrap. Allow to rest in the refrigerator at least 1 hour. This can be done ahead of time.

When ready to prepare, pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Lay out a square of puff pastry. Remove the cling wrap. Place the Parma wrapped filet top side down in the puff pastry. Pull the edges up and trim away excess dough so you are left with a beautiful dough wrapped round. Brush with the egg wash and cook for 20 minutes (for medium rare). Allow to rest 10 minutes prior to serving.