Ingredients:
- 4 x 175g (6 oz) Beef Fillet Mignon Steaks (center-cut, 3-4 cm / 1.5 in thick)
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) Olive Oil, plus extra for searing
- 1 tbsp (15 g) Unsalted Butter
- Coarse Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) Dijon Mustard
- 400 g (14 oz) Mixed Mushrooms (e.g., Cremini and Shiitake, roughly chopped)
- 2 large Shallots, finely minced
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp (15 g) Unsalted Butter (for duxelles)
- 1 sprig Fresh Thyme, leaves only
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) Dry Sherry or Madeira
- 8 slices Prosciutto (thinly sliced, high quality)
- 500 g (1 lb 1 oz) All-Butter Puff Pastry, chilled
- 1 large Egg Yolk, beaten with 1 tsp (5 ml) water (for egg wash)
- A pinch of Flaky Sea Salt (for finishing)
Instructions:
- Pulse the mushrooms, shallots, and garlic in a food processor until they form a coarse paste. Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushroom paste and thyme leaves. Cook, stirring constantly, for 10–12 minutes until all moisture has completely evaporated. Add the Sherry/Madeira and cook for 1 minute until absorbed. Season well. Spread thinly and refrigerate for 20 minutes until completely cold.
- Generously season the beef fillets with salt and pepper. Heat oil and butter in the skillet over high heat. Sear each fillet for 30–45 seconds per side, creating a deep brown crust (interior must remain raw). Remove the steaks, set them on a wire rack to rest for 10 minutes. Brush all sides of the cooled fillets with Dijon mustard.
- Lay two sheets of cling film on your workspace. Arrange two slices of prosciutto on the film, overlapping, to form a blanket for one steak. Spread an even layer of the chilled duxelles over the prosciutto blanket. Place one mustard-coated fillet at the edge. Use the cling film to tightly roll the beef, prosciutto, and duxelles mixture into a compact cylindrical parcel. Twist the ends of the cling film to seal and refrigerate the four beef parcels for a minimum of 30 minutes.
- Roll the chilled puff pastry to a thickness of about 3 mm (1/8 inch). Cut the pastry into four equal squares. Remove a chilled beef parcel from the cling film and place it diagonally on a pastry square. Brush the edges with egg wash. Fold the corners up to meet in the center, sealing the pastry tightly around the beef. Place the Wellingtons seam-side down on a prepared baking sheet, brush generously with egg wash, and score the tops lightly. Refrigerate the Wellingtons for a final 30–45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Bake the Wellingtons for 20–25 minutes until deeply golden brown. Crucially, insert a probe thermometer into the center of one Wellington: target 54°C (130°F) for Medium-Rare. Once the desired temperature is reached, remove from the oven and let the Wellingtons rest for 8–10 minutes before serving.