Ingredients
- 1kg centre fillet of beef from Thomas Johnston, trimmed (the timings below work perfectly for a fillet of roughly 10cm in diameter)
- olive oil
- 2 knobs of unsalted butter
- 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 1 red onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 600g mixed mushrooms
- 100g free-range chicken livers (cleaned), from Thomas Johnston
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon truffle oil, (optional)
- 50g fresh breadcrumbs
- 1x 500g block puff pastry
- 1 large free-range egg
For the gravy:
- 2 onions
- 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 heaped teaspoon blackcurrant jam
- 100ml Maderia wine
- 1 heaped teaspoon English mustard
- 2 heaped teaspoons plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 600ml organic beef stock, (hot)
Method
- Preheat a large frying pan on a high heat. Rub the beef all over with sea salt and black pepper. Pour a good lug of oil into the pan, then add the beef, 1 knob of butter and 1 sprig of rosemary.
- Sear the beef for 4 minutes in total, turning regularly with tongs, then remove to a plate.
- Wipe out the pan and return to a medium heat. Peel the onion and garlic, then very finely chop with the mushrooms and put into the pan with the remaining knob of butter and another lug of oil.
- Strip in the rest of the rosemary leaves and cook for 15 minutes, or until soft and starting to caramelise, stirring regularly.
- Toss the livers and Worcestershire sauce into the pan and cook for another few minutes, then tip the contents onto a large board and drizzle with the truffle oil (if using).
- Finely chop it all by hand with a big knife, to a rustic, spreadable consistency. Taste and season to perfection, then stir in the breadcrumbs (you can use pancakes to line the pastry and absorb the juices, but I prefer using breadcrumbs like this).
- Preheat the oven to 210°C/425°F/gas 7.
- On a flour-dusted surface, roll out the pastry to 30cm x 40cm. With one of the longer edges in front of you, spread the mushroom pâté over the pastry, leaving a 5cm gap at either end and at the edge furthest away from you – eggwash these edges.
- Sit the beef on the pâté then, starting with the edge nearest to you, snugly wrap the pastry around the beef, pinching the ends to seal.
- Transfer the Wellington to a large baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, with the pastry seal at the base, and brush all over with eggwash (you can prep to this stage, then refrigerate until needed – just get it out 1½ hours before cooking so it’s not fridge-cold).
- When you’re ready to cook, heat the tray on the hob for a couple of minutes to start crisping up the base, then transfer to the oven and cook for 40 minutes for blushing, juicy beef – the two end portions will be more cooked, but usually some people prefer that.
- For the gravy, peel and roughly chop the onions and put into a large pan on a medium heat with a lug of oil and the thyme leaves. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, then stir in the jam and simmer until shiny and quite dark.
- Add the Madeira, flame with a match, cook away, then stir in the mustard and flour, gradually followed by the stock. Simmer to the consistency you like, then blend with a stick blender and pass through a sieve, or leave chunky.
- Once cooked, rest the Wellington for 5 minutes, then serve in 2cm-thick slices with the gravy and steamed greens.
Source & Image: Jamie Oliver