Beef Wellington for Two with Truffled Mushroom Duxelles

⏱ 150 min · Serves 2

A pocket-sized showstopper: a blushing pink fillet of beef wrapped in earthy truffled duxelles, whisper-thin prosciutto and burnished all-butter puff pastry. Everything can be built ahead, leaving you free to pour the red wine and look effortlessly brilliant.

Per serving: 1010 kcal · 56.0g protein · 48.0g carbs · 66.0g fat

Ingredients

• 400g centre-cut beef fillet, tied into an even log
• 250g chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 20g unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp dry Madeira or dry sherry
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tsp truffle paste (or 1 tsp truffle oil, added off the heat)
• 4 slices prosciutto di Parma
• 2 tsp English mustard
• 250g all-butter puff pastry, chilled
• 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tsp milk
• Flaky sea salt and coarse black pepper
• Plain flour, for dusting

Method

1. Pat the beef dry, season generously all over with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan until just smoking and sear the fillet 60–90 seconds per side, including the ends, until deeply browned. Lift out, brush all over with the mustard while warm, then cool completely.
2. For the duxelles, blitz the mushrooms, shallot and garlic in a food processor to a coarse, couscous-like crumb (don't purée).
3. Melt the butter in the same pan over medium-high heat, add the mushroom mixture and cook 12–15 minutes, stirring often, until all moisture has evaporated and it looks dark and pasty. Add the Madeira and thyme and cook 2 minutes more until dry again. Season, stir in the truffle paste, then spread on a plate and cool completely.
4. Lay a large sheet of cling film on the worktop and overlap the prosciutto slices into a rectangle a little longer than the beef. Spread the cooled duxelles evenly over the ham, sit the beef on top and use the cling film to roll it into a tight cylinder, twisting the ends like a cracker. Chill 30 minutes.
5. Roll the pastry on a floured surface to a 3–4mm thick rectangle big enough to wrap the parcel with a 2cm overlap. Unwrap the beef, sit it on the pastry, brush the borders with egg wash and roll up, pressing out air. Trim excess, tuck and seal the ends neatly, seam underneath.
6. Brush all over with egg wash, chill uncovered 20 minutes, then egg wash again and score a fine diagonal lattice into the pastry with the back of a knife. Sprinkle with flaky salt. Chill until you're ready to bake.
7. Heat the oven to 200C fan / 220C conventional. Bake the Wellington on a preheated baking tray for 22–26 minutes, until deep golden and a probe in the centre reads 52C for a rosy medium-rare (55C for medium).
8. Rest on a board for 10 minutes — non-negotiable — then slice into two thick portions with a serrated knife. Serve with buttered greens and a red wine jus.