Beef Wellington
I love Kenji Lopez-Alt’s recipe for this dish, he goes through the steps required to produce good results in a very clear and precise manner. However, I had to make a few substitutions in this recipe to make up for certain ingredients that we don’t consume like pork, and add some ingredients that I thought would enhance the flavor of this dish even more.
Ingredients
1 center-cut beef tenderloin, trimmed of fat, about 2 pounds.
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons garlic sauce (optional)
1 Tablespoon dijon, spicy mustard
1 pound mushrooms (button, cremini, shiitake, portabello, or a mix) cleaned, trimmed and roughly chopped
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium shallots, finely diced (about half a cup)
2 teaspoons finely minced fresh thyme leaves (I used 1 teaspoons dried thyme)
1/2 Cup cognac or other brandy or bourbon (you can use chicken stock instead)
1/2 Cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 sheet fillo dough
1/4 pound turkey ham or smoked white turkey
14 ounces frozen puff pastry or homemade
1 egg, beaten
Directions
1. Using butcher’s twine, tie tenderloin at 1 inch intervals. Trim ends of twine. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a cast iron or stainless steel skillet over high heat until smoking. Add tenderloin and cook without moving until well-browned on first side, about 2 minutes. Rotate tenderloin and continue cooking until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer to large plate.
3. Combine garlic sauce, mustard, and 1 teaspoon black pepper in a small bowl. when tenderloin is cool enough to handle, cut off and discard twine, then rub on all surfaces with garlic/mustard mixture. Place in refrigerator, uncovered.
4. Place half the mushrooms in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until very finely chopped, scraping down sides and redistributing mushrooms with spatula as necessary, about 10 short pulses. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with remaining mushrooms.
5. Heat butter in the same skillet you browned the beef in over medium high heat until melted. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have exuded all their liquid and start to sizzle, about 8 minutes. Continue cooking until mushrooms begin to brown and leave browned bits stuck to bottom of pan, about 4 minutes longer. Add shallots and thyme and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 2 minutes.
6. Add brandy (or chicken stock) and scrape bottom of skillet with a spatula to release bowed bits. Continue to cook until liquid is dry, about 4 minutes. Add heavy cream and soy sauce and continue to cook, stirring frequently until mixture is thick and collects in one large mass when you shake the skillet. season to taste with salt and pepper.Transfer to a bowl and place in the refrigerator.
7. Lay a double layer of plastic wrap about 2 feet long and 1 foot wide on your cutting board. Lay fillo dough on top of plastic wrap. shingle turkey slices on top of fillo to create a thin, even, overlapping layer, leaving a 2 inch border along the bottom and top of the fill dough. Spread mushroom mixture evenly over turkey layer.
8. Place tenderloin along the very bottom edge of the turkey/mushroom layer. Carefully roll tenderloin in mushroom, ham and filo, using the plastic wrap to help tighten it as you roll. Once beef is completely rolled up, re-wrap with more plastic wrap, twisting the ends to make sure roll is very tight. Return to refrigerator.
9. Dust board or countertop lightly with flour. Spread puff pastry on board and, using a rolling pin, roll it into a rectangle at least 4 inches wider than the beef roll on its shorter side.
10. Unwrap beef roll and place along very bottom edge of puff pastry. Brush 6 inches of puff pastry just above beef roll with beaten egg. Carefully roll the beef in the puff pastry until it is completely wrapped. You should end up with the puff pastry team meeting on the bottom. Trim pastry with a sharp knife.
11. Fold sides of puff pastry protruding from wither end of the beef roll towards the center, then fold the top flaps down. Trimm off the bottom flaps carefully.
12. Roll entire beef roll over so that the bottom is facing up, the fold up the end flaps to seal completely. Roll beef back right-side up. Transfer to a plate and chill for at least 30 minutes.
13. Adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 425 F (218C). Transfer Wellington to a foil lined baking sheet and brush all over with beaten egg. Use a sharp paring knife to score a decorative pattern in the pastry. Sprinkle liberally with coarse sea salt. Bake until pastry is golden and center of roast is medium about 45-50 minutes.
14. Use a thin metal spatula to loosen Wellington from foil, then carefully transfer to a caring board. CarveWellington, sprinkle cut surfaces with chives and more coarse salt, and serve.
2. Bring a non stick skillet on medium heat till hot but not smoking.
3. lower heat to low, add about 1/4 C of batter into skillet so it forms a round shape.
4. leave it for few minutes till the pancake starts forming bubbles on top and is almost dry.
5. DO NOT FLIP THE PANCAKE!
6. Remove with a spatula and set aside on a flat dish.
7. Repeat step 3 and so on and so forth till the batter is gone.
8. Stuff each pancake with a really good quality ricotta cheese like (Calabro, white rose..).
9. Pinch the pancake from both ends so that its half way closed like in the picture above.
10. Garnish with ground unsalted pistachios.
11. Drizzle with sugar syrup (Ater) or the syrup of your choice!