A few years ago, when Gordon Ramsay arrived in Bordeaux to sign the restaurant menu of theIntercontinental Hotel, I had been invited to discover the menu of the brasserie. I had tasted my first beef Wellington there and loved it. I told myself that one day I would try, but I admit that cooking in a crust scared me a little. The years have passed but the idea has always remained in the back of my mind.

And I decided that this year would be THE year 😀 . So I started. I surfed the global Internet, took a good look at the recipes (which necessarily Gordon Ramsay’s and also that of Cyril Lignac). Gordon puts chestnuts but I skipped it, I didn’t want to. So I stayed on “all mushrooms”. For the mustard, you can opt for English mustard (Savora type) but I have also seen proposals with Dijon mustard. So do with what you have and what you like (I took Dijon).

As for the meat, I chose an excellent french roast beef of the House Lascours whose know-how dates back to 1922. Excellence has since been passed down from father to son. This company sells via Internet in all of France.

This delicious recipe (an idea for the holidays to impress mother-in-law) is not difficult but it requires several steps. So, I put a LOT of pictures to help you.

How to Make a Beef Wellington

Ingredients for 6/8 people according to appetites

Preparation of the roast

Remove the bard from the roast if necessary.

Pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a frying pan and heat it over high heat. When it is hot, brown your roast beef in it for 30 seconds on each side (4).

Remove to a plate and brush with mustard.

Set aside until it comes back to room temperature.

Preparation of mushrooms

Remove the earthy piece, peel them (not obligatory but I prefer), rinse them very quickly under cold water (they must not become waterlogged). Roughly chop them. Peel the garlic cloves and cut them into 4.

Put everything in the bowl of the robot and mix (proceed in 2 or 3 times because there is a lot). The consistency should not be pureed. You need small dice.

Heat a frying pan over high heat and sauté this garlic mushroom duxelles (to which you have added a pinch of salt and a sprig of thyme) over very high heat to evaporate as much water as possible. It took me 15 minutes. Set aside (remove the sprig of thyme).

To not be too fast on D-Day, I prepared the mushrooms the day before.

Assembly

Unroll a plastic film on your table. Place the overlapping slices of cured ham on it, next to each other.

Cover them with the previously prepared mushroom duxelles. Drain it well again before spreading it (I pressed it really hard through a fine mesh strainer to remove as much residual water as possible).

Then place the roast and roll the plastic wrap to wrap the roast well. Reserve in the refrigerator for half an hour.

After 30 minutes, put a plastic film back on your work surface. Place your rectangle of puff pastry on it. Take the roast out, remove the plastic film and place it on the dough. In the center. Using the film, fold one side, then the other.

Finally, close the dough at each end by folding. You should get a kind of pudding wrapped in cling film.

Reserve in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes.

Cooking

After this time, preheat the oven to 200°C.

Place the roast surrounded by dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Mix 1 egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of water in a ramekin. Glaze your dough with this mixture.

Then, using a knife, decorate it if you wish. Sprinkle with a little salt (I like it on puff pastry) if desired.

Bake in the oven preheated to 200°C for 25 to 30 minutes of cooking depending on whether you like it more or less rare or pink. Leave to rest for 10 minutes out of the oven before serving.

Absolutely delicious! Do not hesitate to serve if you like with a shallot, red wine and Cognac sauce for example. In England, Beef Wellington is often served with Madeira sauce.

Existential questions

But and the foie gras will you perhaps tell me?

In #LaVraieRecette, there is foie gras but I preferred Gordon Ramsay’s version, which was lighter.

Wouldn’t we add a small truffle?

If you have some on hand, that’s a good idea. On the other hand avoid truffle oil. 99 times out of 100 it’s not good.

Enjoy your lunch !

Recipe created for Maison Lascours