Beef Wellington

Beef Wellington is a seared beef fillet coated in a mushroom duxelles, usually wrapped in prosciutto and then in puff pastry, and baked until the crust is deep golden and the centre still pink. It is a centrepiece dish for a special occasion, strongly associated with British cooking, though its exact origin — and its link to the Duke of Wellington — is disputed.

What it really is

Mushrooms cook down slowly with shallots, thyme and butter until almost all their moisture has evaporated, leaving a dense duxelles that is spread over the seared fillet. Many recipes then wrap the fillet in a thin layer of prosciutto; others use crêpes or pâté instead, so prosciutto is common rather than essential. The whole is wrapped in puff pastry, brushed with beaten egg and baked.

The layers keep the pastry crisp, not the beef moist. Cooking the duxelles until it is dry, and the barrier layer of prosciutto or crêpe between it and the pastry, stop moisture from soaking into the pastry and leaving it soggy underneath; the timing is what keeps the beef pink.

How it is served

• Sliced into thick rounds, the layers visible in cross-section.
• With a red wine or peppercorn sauce on the side.
• As a centrepiece main, usually for a special occasion.

How to write it on the menu

• Declare wheat (the pastry), egg (the egg wash brushed on the pastry) and milk (butter in the puff pastry and the duxelles).
• Name pork when prosciutto is used: the menu otherwise reads as beef only, which misleads guests who do not eat pork.
• Say how the beef is cooked, since Wellington is judged on the centre staying pink.
• Note that it needs advance timing; a properly rested Wellington is not a fast order.