Serves 6
Preparation time 30 minutes
Cooking time about 1 hour
1.5 kg (3 lb) beef fillet (preferably cut from the middle of the fillet)
50 g (2 oz) butter
2 small onions, finely chopped
300 g (10 oz) chestnut mushrooms, chopped
2 tablespoons brandy
500 g (1 lb) ready-made puff pastry, defrosted if frozen
a little flour, for dusting
200 g (7 oz) smooth chicken pâté
beaten egg, to glaze
salt and pepper
Trim off the excess fat and season the beef. Melt the butter in a frying pan and sear the beef on all sides. Transfer it to a roasting tin, reserving the fat in the pan, and roast in a preheated oven, 200°C (400°F), Gas Mark 6, for 20 minutes. Leave to cool.
Fry the onions in the pan for 5 minutes while the beef is cooking. Add the mushrooms and a little seasoning and fry until the moisture has evaporated. Add the brandy and fry for a further 1 minute. Leave to cool.
Thinly roll out the pastry to a large rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Spread the top of the meat with the chicken pâté, then press a thick layer of the mushroom mixture over the top. Invert the beef on to the pastry and spread with the remaining mushrooms.
Brush the pastry with beaten egg and bring it up over the fillet to enclose the meat completely, trimming off any bulky areas at the corners. Place, join side down, on a lightly greased baking sheet and brush with more egg. Bake for 35 minutes, until deep golden. Leave to stand for 20 minutes before carving.
For individual beef Wellingtons, lightly sear 4 x 150–175 g (5–6 oz) fillet steaks in a hot pan for 30 seconds on each side. Allow to cool. Divide 375 g (12 oz) puff pastry into 4 and roll out each piece to a rectangle. Place a steak on each pastry rectangle. Season the steaks, then spread with 200 g (7 oz) mushroom pâté. Enclose the meat in the pastry and continue as above, cooking for 25–30 minutes.