Serves 6
1kg centre cut fillet of beef piece, trimmed olive oil
Dijon mustard for brushing
100g shallots, finely diced
2 sprigs thyme leaves from
50g butter
200g chestnut mushrooms, finely diced
200g button mushrooms, finely diced
45g brioche breadcrumbs
80g duck or chicken livers, finely chopped
80g bone marrow, diced (optional)
500g puff pastry block, plus 250g extra if you are making the lattice decoration
3 egg yolks, beaten, for brushing and glazing
FOR THE PANCAKES
200g plain flour
2 eggs medium
500ml milk
10g chives, chopped
To make the pancakes, mix the flour and eggs together then gradually whisk in the milk to make a batter. Season, then stir in the chives. Heat a non-stick frying pan with a little oil, then add a small amount of mix to the pan, moving the pan so that it covers the surface. When the underside is light golden, turn and cook the other side. Repeat. You will need 3-4 pancakes.
Season the fillet well, then sear all over in a hot pan with a little oil. Cool, then brush with a thin layer of Dijon mustard.
To make the mushroom duxelles, cook the shallots and thyme in a pan with 2 tsp of oil. Once softened, add the butter and mushrooms and continue cooking on a high heat until the mushrooms are just cooked. Tip onto a sheet of kitchen paper and leave to dry out for 20 minutes. Tip into a bowl, add the breadcrumbs, livers and bone marrow (if using). Season and mix together.
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan. Roll out the puff pastry to around 3mm thickness on a floured bench.
Spread the duxelle mix all over the top and sides of the meat, trying to get a nice even covering (you don’t need to do the bottom).
Arrange the pancakes, slightly overlapping, then put the beef on top. Bring the pancakes up and around to cover the beef, being careful not to disturb the duxelle too much. Brush all over with some egg yolk (this will help the pastry stick to the beef and pancakes and cut down on air bubbles).
Sit the wrapped beef on one end of the pastry then roll, getting rid of as much air as possible. Brush the long edge with egg and seal, making sure the seal goes underneath. Fold and crimp both ends to seal.
Glaze the pastry with egg, then roll out the second piece, cut a pattern and drape over the top. Trim to fit, then glaze with more egg.
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan. Cook the wellington for 30 minutes for rare, 35-40 for medium rare. Turn the wellington halfway through for even cooking. Leave to rest for 10-15 minutes before carving.