Beef Wellington

Oh Internet! I have a confession to make. On New Years Eve, I prepared and served one of the most delicious and elegant dishes I have ever made, the aforementioned Beef Wellington. As I cut into the beautiful layers of pink meat and laid them across each of my guest's plates, I was so happy with the presentation, and so excited to share with my guests that I completely forgot to take pictures! As promised though, here is a very simple and delicious beef wellington recipe that I hope your guests can enjoy as much as mine did.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of soft butter
2 pound beef tenderloin (trimmed of excess fat)
1 box frozen puff pastry (thawed)
1 egg
1 onion
3 large cloves of garlic
8oz box of button mushrooms
2 tablespoons of fresh parsley
1 tablespoon of fresh sage
salt
pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Start by preheating the oven to 425 degrees. Rub the tenderloin with butter, and then season heavily with salt and pepper. Cook for 30 minutes. This will allow a light crust to develop on the meat before it is wrapped in the puff pastry.

While meat is in the oven, make your mushroom topping. Start by finely chopping one medium sized onion and the 3 garlic cloves. Saute for about three minutes over medium heat with olive oil. Next add in 8 oz of finely chopped mushrooms, and cook for 5 minutes more. Stir in the sage and parsley, remove from the heat, and season well. Set aside 1/2 cup of filling to use later in a sauce.

Once the tenderloin has cooked thirty minutes, remove from the oven and allow to rest for about 10 minutes. Take the meat out of the pan, top with the sauteed mushrooms, and wrap in your puff pastry. Save the roasting pan and all of the crispy meat drippings for a final sauce to use when serving.

This is where you get to be creative. I was able to place the meat in the center of one puff pastry, and then use strips of the second to cover the top portion of the meat. Brush the individual pieces with egg to help everything stick together. I used any leftover scraps to decorate the top of the roast. (Try using cookie cutters to create really decorate shapes!) You may need to roll out the puff pastry a little bit with a rolling pin in order to make it fit your tenderloin. This is not a science...as long as your puff pastry is somehow secured over your meat using the egg glue, you are all set. Next place the wrapped beef into the oven in a second, clean roasting pan and cover with tin foil. Cook for 15 minutes then remove the foil, and continue to bake for another 20-30 minutes for a medium rare roast. You may use a thermometer to get the beef just right for your family. Use this chart as a guide. When the meat is done, allow it to rest for 15 minutes while preparing the below sauce in the meantime.



Beef Wellington Sauce

1/2 cup mushroom topping
1/2 cup red wine
3/4 cup beef stock
2 tablespoons flour
salt
pepper
pan drippings
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Heat pan with drippings over the stove. Mix 2 tablespoons of flour into the mushroom topping, and saute in pan for about 2 minutes. Add in stock and wine, and whisk together until a thickened sauce begins to form. Season with salt, pepper and parsley. Serve beef slices with a drizzle of sauce, and enjoy!