The Beef Wellington it is a recipe with which it makes a beautiful figure: it is the second of meat for the Special occasions. The origin is English, the name in fact seems to be dedicated to Arthur Wellesley, become Duke of Wellington in 1815. According to history, the duke was a man of difficult tastes in the kitchen, until he tried this filet in crust, which became his favorite dish.

The fillet, the softer and fat-free part of beef

There choice of meat for this type of preparation is essential. Normally you opt for the beef fillet, the part more lean and soft, which is divided into the head, body and tail. There central part, the body of the thread, is the most suitable because it has a more homogeneous dimension of the other two. This will allow the meat to cook more evenly and even the final presentation of the dish will be more elegant.

Double cooking

The fillet at Wellington includes one double cooking of the meat. The first, for a few minutes in the pan, serves to create a crust on the surface of the fillet, keeping the meat inside soft and juicy. The second, longer, takes place in the oven, with the meat wrapped in the puff pastry which retains the aromas of mustard and ham and enriches those of meat.

The recipe of the fillet at Wellington

Ingredients

1 kg beef fillet
150 g raw ham
1 roll of puff pastry
150 g porcini mushrooms
150 g champignons
mustard
1 shallot
1 yolk
salt
pepper
herbs
oil
butter
200 g Madeira wine

Method

First take the piece of meat and massage it with a mixture of salt and chopped herbs. Leave the dried porcini to soak for 30 minutes in cold water.

Meanwhile in a pan brown the chopped shallot in a little butter. When it is golden, add the cleaned and sliced ​​champignons and then add the porcini mushrooms. Cook for about 15 minutes, blending with the Madeira.

Then take the piece of meat and sauté over high heat in another pan with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Turn it on all sides, without using a fork, until a uniform crust has formed on the surface of the meat. Once ready, transfer it on a plate and brush it with mustard.

Take now some film and spread it on a plane. Place the ham slices on top so that a rectangle forms. Roll the cooked mushrooms over the ham and then the meat. Wrap up everything with the film and let the meat rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Then roll out the dough and then place the meat in the center, wrapped in ham. Cover the fillet with the dough and press lightly with your fingers where you will blow the dough. Brush with the egg whipped the whole surface of the pastry.

With a sharp knife, make some oblique incisions on the pastry and then bake the meat in a preheated oven at 200 °. Cook for 30 minutes and then remove the fillet, letting it rest for ten minutes before slicing it.

In the tutorial, discover some more tips to cook the beef fillet perfectly