Name: Christmas Beef Wellington
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 85 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 700 g centre-cut beef fillet; Olive oil, for searing; Sea salt, to taste; Freshly ground black pepper, to taste; 1 tablespoon English mustard; 700 g chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped; 1 garlic clove, chopped; 100 g cooked chestnuts; 10 g fresh thyme leaves; 8 slices Parma ham; 500 g puff pastry; 1 egg yolk, beaten

Method

15 steps

Season the beef fillet generously with salt and black pepper.
Heat a splash of olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Sear the beef quickly on every side until browned.
Remove the beef from the pan and brush it all over with English mustard. Set aside to cool.
Place the mushrooms, garlic, cooked chestnuts and thyme in a food processor. Season and pulse into a coarse paste.
Transfer the mushroom mixture to a hot, dry frying pan. Cook, stirring regularly, until all the released moisture has evaporated. Transfer to a plate and cool completely.
Lay a large sheet of cling film on the worktop. Arrange the Parma ham slices in an overlapping rectangle and season lightly with black pepper.
Spread the cooled mushroom mixture evenly over the Parma ham, leaving a small border around the edges.
Place the beef in the centre. Using the cling film, wrap the Parma ham and mushroom mixture tightly around the beef to form a firm cylinder.
Twist the ends of the cling film and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Roll the puff pastry into a rectangle large enough to enclose the beef. Unwrap the chilled beef and place it in the centre.
Wrap the pastry tightly around the beef, trim away excess pastry and seal the edges. Wrap again in cling film and chill for at least 5 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Unwrap the Wellington, place it seam-side down on a lined baking tray and brush with beaten egg yolk.
Lightly score the pastry without cutting through it, then sprinkle with a little salt.
Bake for approximately 35 minutes, until the pastry is deeply golden.
Rest the Wellington for at least 10 minutes before slicing.