Beef Wellington with Sweet Sherry Gravy

This is a rather luxurious recipe, ideal for special occasions and feeding a group.

Serves 4-6

Approx 90 mins

Ingredients

1 kg Fillet of beef (ideally the middle of the fillet so its evenly thick)

Olive oil

375g of good quality chicken liver and mushroom pate

1 small red onion (finely chopped)

50g Cup Mushrooms (finely chopped)

1 Large knobs of unsalted butter

1 Sprigs of rosemary

50g Fresh breadcrumbs

1 x 500g block of puff pastry

1 Large free-range egg

For the gravy

2 Onions roughly chopped

4 sprigs of thyme

1 Heaped teaspoon Blackcurrent jam

100ml sweet sherry

1 heaped tsp of English Mustard

2 heaped tsp plain flour plus extra for dusting

600ml of Beef stock

Sides

Seasonal green vegetables

Method

Preheat a large frying pan on a high heat, season the beef fillet with salt and pepper all over. Now get a good glug of olive oil into your pan. Place the beef into the pan to begin searing it, followed by 1 knob of butter and 1 sprig of rosemary. Sear the beef for around 4 minutes, turning with a pair of tongs to make sure its seared all the way around. After its seared, take the beef out of the pan, onto a plate and set aside.

Now mix your pate with the mushrooms, red onion and the breadcrumbs in a mixing bowl and set aside.

Pre-heat your oven to exactly 210 degrees (gas 7).

Roll out the pastry on a flour dusted surface to approx 30 x 40cm with the longest side facing you. Now  evenly spread the pate mix onto the pastry leaving a 5cm gap around the edges. Egg wash the longest edge furthest away from you and the two shorter edges.

Now place your beef fillet onto the edge of the pastry nearest to you, and begin to roll it up. You need to keep this as tight as you can. Once rolled all the way around, nip the ends together and make sure its sealed across the top.

Transfer the wellington to a suitable sized baking tray lined with grease proof paper with the pastry seal at the bottom and brush all over with egg wash. Heat the baking tray on the hob for a couple of minutes to start crisping the pastry base to avoid a soggy bottom. Now place the Wellington into the oven to cook for exactly 40 minutes.

Now to make the gravy, get yous chopped onions into a large pan with a glug of olive oil on a medium heat. Throw in the thyme leaves and cook for 20 minutes whilst stirring. Add the Blackcurrent jam and simmer this until shiny and dark. Now add the Sweet Sherry and simmer away, then add the mustard and the flour, gradually add the beef stock and then simmer to a consistency of your liking.

You may blend the gravy once ready or leave it chunky.

Once the beef is ready, let it rest for 5 minutes. Carve into thick slices and serve with steamed seasonal greens and the gravy.