Kelsey Holmes' Beef Wellington

Beef Wellington / Kate Martens (p)

“Beef Wellington is my all-time favourite. I taught myself how to make it back in high school, and since then it’s been a repeated success with family and friends - like come on, who wouldn’t enjoy a good piece of fillet? This dish may look incredibly difficult but, fear not, the recipe I have makes it a breeze. The puff pastry can be made from scratch or, for the worker-bees, bought puff pastry is totally acceptable. I’m confident this will make it to your all-time-favourite list, too.”

— Kelsey Holmes

BEEF WELLINGTON

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.5 kg fillet of beef , sinew removed
• 46 ml SUNFOIL oil
• 115 g white button mushrooms (chopped)
• 2 garlic clove (crushed)
• 180 g smooth chicken liver Pate
• 25 ml fresh parsley (chopped)
• 450 g puff pastry (bought or hand-made)
• 2 eggs (beaten)
• Oryx Salt and ground pepper

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Tie the beef with twine ( butchers string).
3. Heat 30 ml of oil in a frying pan, brown the beef on all sides for about 10 minutes.
4. Put the fillet in a roasting pan and roast for 15-20 minutes.
5. Set aside to rest, remember to leave the oven on.
6. Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and cook the chopped mushrooms and garlic for 5 minutes, until mushrooms are softened.
7. Take the mushroom mixture and stir in the pate and chopped parsley, and then season well. (Set aside to cool).
8. Then take out the puff pastry and roll it out into a sheet large enough to enclose the beef, remember to leave a strip aside.
9. Trim off the spare pastry.
10. Spread the mixture down the middle of the pastry.
11. Untie the beef fillet and lay it on top of the pate mixture.
12. Then take a brush and start brushing the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg, and fold the pastry over the meat to enclose it in a neat parcel.
13. Make sure to seal the edges well.
14. Place the parcel on a baking sheet, making sure seam side is down.
15. Cut shapes of your choice from the reserved pastry.
16. Brush the parcel with beaten egg, decorate with the shapes you made and brush with egg again.
17. Let it chill for about 15 minutes.
18. Bake the parcel for 50-60 minutes, covering it loosely with foil after about 30 minutes.
19. Transfer to a serving platter and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
20. Serve in thick slices , and remember to garnish each portion with some parsley.