Beef wellington with spinach and chestnut mushrooms

Beef wellington with spinach and chestnut mushrooms
  • Serves icon Serves 6
  • Time icon Hands-on time 1 hour 20 min, oven time 30-35 min, plus cooling and resting

Beef wellington is a dinner party classic – perhaps because it’s a make-ahead marvel, or maybe because, once you’ve tasted the melt-in-the-mouth meat and crisp, buttery pastry, you’re hooked. . The added spinach in this recipe is a neat trick that helps to disguise the mushrooms from fungi haters.

Try our vegan mushroom wellington for a meat-free option.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories
794kcals
Fat
43.7g (18.8g saturated)
Protein
45g
Carbohydrates
50.8g (8.9g sugars)
Fibre
6.1g
Salt
1.2g
Calories
794kcals
Fat
43.7g (18.8g saturated)
Protein
45g
Carbohydrates
50.8g (8.9g sugars)
Fibre
6.1g
Salt
1.2g

Ingredients

  • Olive oil for frying
  • 850-900g whole piece British beef fillet (taken from the middle to the thicker end), at room temperature
  • 1 1⁄2 tbsp creamed horseradish
  • 1 1⁄2 tbsp English mustard
  • 30g unsalted butter
  • 100g cooked, peeled chestnuts (we used Merchant Gourmet whole chestnuts, available from large supermarkets and good delis), finely chopped
  • 250g chestnut mushrooms, very finely chopped (use a food processor if you have one)
  • 1 tbsp brandy (optional)
  • 6 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
  • 50g fresh breadcrumbs
  • 200g bag spinach, wilted (see bottom left), squeezed dry and chopped
  • 4 medium free-range eggs
  • 3 tbsp whole milk
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce to glaze
  • 500g block all-butter puff pastry (take out of the fridge 15 minutes
    before rolling)
  • Plain flour to dust

You’ll also need…

  • Baking tray lined with non-stick compostable baking paper; 20cm non-stick frying pan

Useful to have…

  • Digital probe thermometer

Method

  1. Drizzle some of the olive oil over the beef and season with salt and pepper. Heat a wide, deep frying pan over a high heat, then sear the beef all over until browned. Remove from the pan, put on a chopping board and rub all over with the horseradish and English mustard. Set aside to cool.
  2. In the same pan used to cook the beef, melt the butter and, once foaming, add the chopped chestnuts and mushrooms. Fry over a high heat, stirring, until the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated (be prepared: this will take around 20 minutes). Add the brandy (if using), then cook over a high heat for a few more minutes until all the liquid has evaporated again. Tip the mixture into a large bowl and stir in the sage, breadcrumbs and spinach. Check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste. Leave to cool.
  3. Beat 1 egg in a small bowl with 1 tbsp milk. Add a drizzle of oil to a 20cm non-stick frying pan, then add the egg mixture and swirl around the pan to make a thin omelette. Set aside. Repeat with 2 more eggs/ milk, so you have 3 thin omelettes. Whisk the final egg in the bowl to use as a glaze for the pastry.
  4. Once the mushroom mixture (duxelles), beef and omelettes have cooled, pat the duxelles generously all over the beef fillet to fully coat it (see Know-how). Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to form a large rectangle. Make sure it’s long enough for the beef to sit lengthways in the middle with enough spare pastry around it to wrap the fillet.
  5. Put 2 of the omelettes, slightly overlapping, on the pastry, then sit the beef lengthways on top. Drape the final omelette over the beef (these omelettes will soak up any of the resting meat juices and help prevent your pastry from becoming soggy). Fold one long side of the pastry over the meat, then brush the pastry top with a little beaten egg. Tuck in the short edges, then fold over the other side of the pastry to fully encase the meat. Trim off any excess pastry as you work and reserve it to make decorations – press these onto the pastry, using the egg wash to help them stick. Carefully transfer the beef wellington, seam side down, to the lined baking tray, then brush all over with beaten egg. Chill for 30 minutes (see Make Ahead).
  6. Heat the oven to 210°C/190°C fan/ gas 61⁄2. Glaze the pastry again with the remaining beaten egg, then bake the wellington for 30-35 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and puffed. If you have a digital thermometer, push it into the centre of the wellington. It should read 52-56°C for rare. For medium, cook for 35-40 minutes (or 57-59°C) and for well done for 50 minutes (60-63°C). Rest the wellington for 10 minutes, then slice and serve with vegetables.

delicious. tips

  1. Instead of omelettes, you could use parma ham to wrap around the meat.

  2. Make up to the end of step 5 up to 12 hours ahead, cover and chill. Glaze with beaten egg before baking. Or open-freeze the prepped wellington and, once solid, wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight, then bake as in the recipe.

  3. Wash, put in a dry pan with just the water clinging to its leaves, then put over a medium heat until the leaves collapse. Alternatively, wilt in the bag, in a microwave.

Recipe By

Jen Bedloe

Subscribe

Fancy getting a copy in print?

Subscribe to our magazine

Rate & review

Rate

Reviews

Share a tip

Or, how about...?

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Beef fillet recipes

Classic beef wellington

The all-time luxurious dinner party recipe. Nothing beats cutting into...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Canapé recipes

Mushroom duxelles

The mushroom paste in this vegetarian starter can also be...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Valentine's Day recipes

Individual beef Wellingtons

These individual beef Wellingtons, with tender beef, rich pâté and...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Christmas main courses that aren't turkey

Venison wellington

Venison wellington makes a fabulous alternative to Christmas turkey. Try...

Subscribe to our magazine

Food stories, skills and tested recipes, straight to your door... Enjoy 5 issues for just £5 with our special introductory offer.

Subscribe

Unleash your inner chef

Looking for inspiration? Receive the latest recipes with our newsletter

We treat your data with care. See our privacy policy. By signing up, you are agreeing to delicious.’ terms and conditions. Unsubscribe at any time.