beef wellington and madeira sauce

Growing up with a mother who is an amazing cook, I have had exposure to some tasty treats! One of my favorites that she actually cooked for our senior prom was beef wellington. Think of a flaky, buttery pasty crust with a juicy steak and yummy pate inside...BAM. So good. Last year, Kabeer and I decided to take on the challenge of making beef wellington on our own. Let’s just say, a bottle and a half of wine later, our wellingtons were “delicious” in our minds but I’m not quite sure if they turned out the way they were intended. So this year, we decided to try again! I am so proud of us, they turned out beautiful. What’s great about this dish is that it feels so sophisticated but it is actually manageable if you do prep work beforehand. If making for a crowd, you can basically get everything done before people arrive and then all you have to do is pop those babies in the oven! Here is my mom’s recipe, with several added notes!

Tip: Ask your butcher for a perfectly round cut, 6-7 oz Angus tenderloin. If you have a nice round steak the assembly will be easier and your product will be prettier! 

for the Beef Wellington: (makes 6 servings)

6 6-oz black Angus tenderloins, round cut 

Butter

for the Pate:

4 ounces ham (not flavored)                                    

8 oz fresh mushrooms, cleaned

1 small onion, chopped

1 small clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp fresh parsley

salt, pepper, flour

Puff pastry sheets (I used Pepperidge Farm ones, in the freezer section)

1 beaten egg

Brown steaks in butter for about 2 minutes on each side in hot frying pan. Cool completely. In a food processor, add ham, mushrooms, onions and garlic. Melt 1/2 - tbsp butter in skillet and saute ham and mushroom mixture for about 5 minutes. Thicken with a little flour (start with 1/2 tbsp) and season to your liking with salt and pepper. 

Here is an instructional video on how to assemble the wellingtons from finecooking.com. We actually used a full puff pastry sheet for each wellington because I didn’t want to roll it out and deal with testy dough. It was definitely a bigger end product, but I thought the ratio of pastry to meat was excellent. Your choice! 

To assemble the wellingtons (adapted from Cuisine magazine): 

Roll out pastry (your choice), cut into squares

On each square, place one seared filet mignon, blotted dry. Spread each filet with the pate, we used about 2 tbsp. Add one tbsp of water to beaten egg mixture. Brush corners of pastry with egg and water mixture, then fold a corner up to the center of the filet. Fold the opposite corner up to the center, meeting the first corner. Press lightly to adhere. Think of wrapping a gift! Fold the other corners to the center the same way, but this time, tuck in the sides as if wrapping a gift. Press corners to adhere. Gently stretch pastry over any open areas to enclose the meat. Place Wellington on an ungreased, parchment-lined baking sheet. Decorate Wellingtons with puff pastry cut-outs, if you want. As you can see in the photo, we used hearts for Valentine’s Day, and I think last year we did the letters and K and J. It gives the Wellingtons a clean look. 

Cover Wellingtons with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour or up to 24. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Brush Wellingtons with egg wash to help with that nice brown look to the surface and bake 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden. Do not bake longer than that or your meat will be overdone! Serve Wellingtons with Madeira Sauce, recipe below. 

For the Madeira Sauce:

2 tbsp chopped ham

2 tbsp butter

1 small carrot, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

2 tbsp flour

2 cups brown stock (we used canned beef broth)

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 small bay leaf

3 peppercorns

1 sprig parsley

1 clove garlic, minced

1 C Madeira

salt and pepper

(additional beef base if needed)

Cook the chopped ham in the butter for a few minutes. Add the carrots, onions and celery and cook briskly, stirring constantly until the vegetables are golden brown. Stir in flour and brown it - don’t let it burn! Add the brown stock and the remaining ingredients and cook, stirring until the sauce thickens. Cook slowly for 20 minutes, partially covered. This is important, I cooked it too fast and we did not end up with enough reduction so we had to add chicken broth...not as good! Remove any fat that has risen to the surface during cooking. The sauce should be as thick as cream. Finish the sauce with the Madeira and heat it without boiling. Adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper and beef soup base if necessary. 

This recipe is a lot of work but if done correctly, it is worth it! We ate it with green beans and potatoes. 

Stay tuned for a recipe for dessert...Chocolate Cake with Espresso Buttercream