Happy Valentines!
Due to Valentines Day being right after my birthday and right before our anniversary, we don’t normally do anything OTT for it. So I decided this year it would be nice to make a romantic meal. I didn’t want it to be something I have made before, I wanted it to be special, so I set myself the challenge of making my very first Beef Wellington, or two to be precise. After looking at several recipes on the internet, I decided to go for it.
I used the Gordon Ramsay recipe which can be found here. I also frantically text my uncle while I was cooking for some advice (I did not want a soggy pastry!)
I kind of played about with it a bit, and adapted it to make 2 individual wellingtons instead of 1 large one- I used parma ham inside the wellington instead of prosciutto, the beef I used was fillet steak which was bought from M&S for £5, and the perfect size for an individual wellington and the mushroom duxelle I made using chestnut mushrooms, Shallots, butter and a splash of white wine.
KEY THINGS- The hardest bit I found was cooking the beef, I started by sealing the meat in a pan, but found this left it still dripping with blood, so then baked the beef for another 10 mins. I guess it all depends on personal preference, but I would not eat beef if there was blood spurting out it! The beef then has to be completely cooled before wrapping in the pastry. It should be cooled straight after cooking, then put in the fridge for a further 30 mins. Then again once the Wellington is made up, it must be put back in the fridge for 30 mins. I cooked the Wellingtons for about 20-25 mins in the oven.
I was really chuffed with the end result, and would definitely use Gordon’s recipe again.
To accompany the Wellingtons, I also made some rosemary roast potatoes. To make these:
½ bag of new potatoes (around 500g)
Rosemary
2 teaspoons of Very Lazy Garlic in White Wine Vinegar
Olive Oil
- First peel the potatoes, and chop into small pieces, around 1 inch x 1 inch.
- Boil the potatoes until they are just going soft, and then drain off the water
- Pour a generous amount of olive oil into an oven proof dish and add the potatoes
- Spread the garlic evenly over the potatoes, and then lay 3 large pieces of rosemary on top
- Bake in the oven for around 40 mins at 200 oC or until golden brown
For dessert I made Nigella’s Nutella Cheesecake, the night before to allow it to set. The recipe can be found here
Unfortunately my Springform tin is a bit too big, so the “cheese” layer is the same thickness as the base, when it should be significantly larger. For the biscuit base, I didn’t use Nigella’s recipe. I used crushed chocolate digestives instead of normal ones, and mixed these some honey to get a solid biscuit base.
I really enjoyed making this meal, but it took me hours to do, so isn’t realistic for a normal after work dinner. Would definitely make those Wellingtons again one weekend though, they were very tasty even if I do say so myself :-D
Lisa J
