Beef Wellington is a rich and luxurious dish which has been the mainstay of fine dining for far too long. Traditionally it is a whole fillet of beef, topped with an umami-filled mushroom duxelle, with perhaps the addition of paté all wrapped in parma ham and then encased in a buttery puff pastry. This is baked in the oven until golden brown, and the beef is cooked to your liking.
I love the whole concept of a Wellington. Layers of flavour all combined to delight and excite; what is not to love!?
Well, a few things.
It is expensive to make, first of all, and I think there are smarter and more planet-conscious ways of recreating this meal. So that is precisely what I did….
I recreated the beef wellington to align with my flexitarian food philosophy. This recipe uses more sustainable and cheaper cuts of beef and less beef. Many more mushrooms are added to increase the nutrient content, decrease the wellington’s saturated fat content, and lean into the flexitarian model more.
This recipe is genius. You get the experience and flavour of a beef wellington but in a more cost-effective, nutrient-dense, planet-conscious way. Win-Win. To walk through this recipe step by step with me, watch it here on the Six O Clock Show.
Beef & Mushroom Wellington
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS
Beef Meatloaf
- 100 g closed cup mushrooms finely diced
- 500 g beef mince
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1 celery stick finely diced
- 1 carrot diced
- 4 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 tsp thyme chopped
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 splash Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mushroom Topping
- 500 g closed cup mushrooms finely chopped
- 25 g butter
- 1 tsp thyme chopped
- 325 g ready rolled all butter puff pastry chilled
- 1 egg beaten
Instructions
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan. Line a baking sheet with non-stick baking parchment.
- First, make the meatloaf.
- Mix together the mushrooms and beef in a large bowl. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan.
- Add the onion, celery and carrot. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes until soft. Mix in the thyme and garlic and cook for a further minute.
- Leave to cool slightly.
- Add the egg, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and cooled vegetable mix to the beef and stir thoroughly.
- Shape the mixture into a thin loaf and place on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes until cooked through. Leave until cold.
- Meanwhile make the topping. Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the mushrooms.
- Cook, stirring frequently over a low heat, until the mushrooms are soft, and all the liquid has evaporated.
- The mixture needs to be really dry – this will take around 10 minutes.
- Stir in the thyme and season. Leave to cool. Turn the oven up to 200c/180c fan.
- Prepare another lined baking sheet.
- Lay out the pastry and spread some of the mushroom mixture into the middle, about the same area as the meatloaf. Place the meatloaf on top of this and then use the remaining mushroom mixture to completely cover it.
- Cut slits along both edges of the pastry around the meatloaf, descending in opposite directions, about 1.5cm apart. Starting from the top, wrap the pastry around the loaf, trimming off any excess and then fold over the pastry strip into a lattice.
- Wrap the other end of the pastry under the last strips and again, trim away any excess. Transfer the loaf onto the baking sheet. Brush generously with beaten egg and bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or until crisp and golden.
- Serve hot or cold.
