Food with JP Passion: Show Stopping Beef Wellington
By JP Kennedy
John Paul Kennedy is a self-taught cook and an avid fan of collecting cookery books with a passion for good old-fashioned home cooking. his passion for proper family cooking stems from his TWO Grandmothers who were both excellent cooks, one of whom was a trained chef. JP promises to bring us plenty of family-inspired recipes and tasty treats while showing us how to get the basics right.
My brother just recently moved home from Portugal where he was temporarily based as a pilot and has moved in with me.
He is a lover of all things beef and for longer than I can remember has been at me to make him Beef Wellington.
I was not convinced that wrapping a beautiful piece of beef fillet in pastry would be up my street but I wanted to cook him something nice for his first meal home and in preparation I started researching recipes for a show stopping Beef Wellington.
I am not a lover of mushrooms so I came across a recipe whereby the fillet is wrapped in Parma ham and thought to myself – What can I add in terms of flavour to replace the traditional mushroom pate? I came up with Sundried tomato pesto! I made this for Sunday lunch and I can now say I am a complete convert! It was delicious, moist full of flavour and I could not believe how simple and quick it was to make.
So if you really fancy treating your loved ones or for an alternative dish over Christmas instead of turkey – this recipe is a real showstopper and one that will please your family or guests.
Ingredients: (Feeds 3-4 people )
- Piece of Beef fillet about 24 ounces or approx €35 worth – you will need to source this from a butcher
- 200g Parma or prosciutto ham
- Half a jar of good quality sundried tomato pesto
- One sheet of all butter puff pastry (Shop bought all butter puff is perfect, life is too short to make your own puffy pastry)
- Tablespoon of rapeseed oil
- Sea Salt & Ground black pepper
- 1 beaten egg
Method:
1. Remove the piece of beef fillet from the fridge allow to come to room temperature.
2. In a large frying pan on a medium to high heat; heat the oil and season the fillet of beef and sear well on each side (including the ends) then place on a plate to rest, before popping back into the fridge.
3. Lay out the ham on a sheet of cling film in the centre. Cover the beef generously in the sundried tomato pesto ensuring it’s evenly covering the beef.
4. Then place the piece of beef on top of the ham and roll the cling film tightly so that the piece of fillet is wrapped in ham. Then refrigerate for another 15 minutes.
5. Preheat your oven to 220 degrees / Gas Mark 7 and remove the beef from the cling-film carefully; it should hold well after being chilled.
6. Roll out the sheet of puff pastry using a rolling pin and place the beef in the middle. Wrap the beef with the pastry and tuck in the sides to get a nice rounded top.
7. Brush all over with beaten egg and score with some slits on top with a knife and sprinkle some sea salt on top – place into your preheated oven and cook for 40 minutes. This leaves the meat still nice and pink in the middle, exactly how I like it. You can cook for 5-10 minutes longer if you prefer it more done!
8. Serve with all your favourite trimmings including rich beef gravy – tuck in and enjoy!
I’ve already ordered a barrel of beef fillet for Christmas as I want to serve this again to family over the Christmas break. Of course, I will serve my go to traditional Turkey and Ham on Christmas day but this is a rich and delicious treat to look forward to a few days after the main festivities and one to enjoy before we all focus on healthy eating and fitness in the new-year! I’d resisted making this for years and years, always of the view that beef fillet was too good to cover in pastry – but now I’ve tried it I am a complete convert!
While it is an expensive cut of meat I’m a firm believer (especially in the current environment) we all need to treat ourselves and the one’s we love more so now than ever before; and this recipe hits the mark. Hope you enjoy!
Contact JP On:
Twitter: @JPKCooking
Email: JPKCooking@gmail.com
Instagram: jpkennedy.kennedy
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