If last week was all about easy recipes, this week the pendulum will is swinging in the opposite direction. At least for this first recipe. Beef Wellington is a classic dish I’ve heard of but never had, although I did make Cranberry Hazelnut Turkey Wellington a few Thanksgivings ago. I’ve made a few complicated recipes for this blog and a few I only thought would be complicated. I have a feeling this is the real deal legit complicated recipe I’ve been both dreading and looking forward to. But I like a challenge and expanding my horizons, so here goes. Deep, calming breath, remember I got a good deal on the filet mignon (and I have 2 extra pieces just in case), and here goes nothing…
For special occasions, treat yourself to this beef wellington recipe made of tender filet mignon individually wrapped in puff pastry and served with a delicious mushroom sauce.
The Ingredients
There are a lot of ingredients for beef Wellington! As I mentioned earlier, I had the all-important filet mignon, but I was surprised at how little else I needed to buy. This recipe is full of basics like flour, olive oil, and butter, which I had on hand.
I did have to buy the prosciutto, some eggs, mushrooms, and shallots, and I found them all at my usual store. But Whole Foods apparently doesn’t stock frozen puff pastry and I’m not gourmet enough to keep it on hand, so I did have to make a second trip to Publix just for that. And I thought Whole Foods was the fancy grocery store. Whole Foods, you let me down.
The Process
It’s time to cook! I waited until the weekend to give this recipe a try. In the meantime, I read and reread the recipe and accompanying post to make sure I understood everything. I also took a peek at a few beef Wellington how-to videos. They were all for the traditional Wellington with whole beef tenderloin, but the technique was pretty much the same.
The recipe lists a total time of 2 hours 15 minutes, and I expected it to take me a bit longer as this was my first time making it. I was very wrong. It ended up taking me a whole hour less than that. I took my time and didn’t miss any steps, so I’m not sure how on earth I managed that.
Here’s how my time broke down:
- 38 minutes for prep
- 25 minutes to cook
- 10 minutes to stand
- 1 hour 13 minutes total
Prep work was everything I did before the Wellingtons went into the oven. That includes roughly chopping the mushrooms before processing them and time to chill in the refrigerator. Baking until the meat thermometer read 125℉ took 25 minutes, and I followed that with standing for 10 minutes before serving.
Yes, this recipe was more complicated than my usual fare, but it wasn’t as difficult as I imagined. I ended up with two beautiful servings of beef Wellington that my husband and I adored.
To Serve
The author suggests green beans and potatoes to go along with the beef Wellington, so that’s what I served it with. She links to some of her recipes, but I went with a couple I’ve blogged about before:
I made the potatoes first, then the green bean bundles, then the beef Wellington. My oven’s warmer drawer came in very handy and kept the sides warm while the Wellingtons baked.
