Gordon Ramsay's Beef Wellington

Dennis requested that I make Gordon Ramsay's beef wellington quite a while ago but I finally got a chance to make it today.  I found the recipe online, but it was in metric measurements.  D'OH!  But after some looking, I was able to find a page where someone had converted the recipe into US measurements.  It is a quite involved recipe, especially as I decided to make my own puff pastry.  So I started out cooking early today.

Ingredients

.88 lbs beef fillet

.88 lbs mushrooms

4 slices  Prosciutto ham

English mustard for brushing meat

.44 lbs puff pastry (half of the puff pastry recipe linked above)

2 egg yolks

8 new potatoes

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 sprig fresh thyme

2 large baby gem lettuce

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Mustard vinaigrette, optional

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Heat olive oil in a large pan and sear the meat on all sides (just brown each side). 

*Tip, try to get one large fillet.  Unfortunately, I was not able to get a large enough single fillet from the grocery store butcher.  :\

Let it cool and then brush it with the mustard.  

Chop the mushrooms in a food processor to make a puree. 

Throw the puree in a hot pan with no oil and sweat out all of the liquid. Let the water evaporate and then set it aside to cool.  

*Note, the mushroom puree will shrink considerably and will smell horrible as it cooks.

Lay four slices of prosciutto ham down on a large piece of cling film, slightly overlapping.

Then brush with mushroom mixture.  

Put the beef in the middle of the ham and roll the ham around the beef using the cling film. Twist the ends of the cling film to tighten the roll, then refrigerate it for 15 minutes to let it set.  

Roll your puff pastry and then brush the edges with an egg wash (1 egg beat with 2 tbsp water). Roll the pastry over the beef completely covering it. Cut off any excess pieces. 

Egg wash the top. Put your roll back in the fridge for 5 minutes. Egg wash again, score the top and bake for 35-40 minutes. Let it cool for 10 minutes before slicing. 

Par boil the potatoes in salted water. Quarter them and leave the skin on. Sauté in olive oil and butter with the garlic and thyme, until browned and cooked through. Season. Remove the thyme and garlic before serving.

Separate the outside leaves of the baby gem (leaving the smaller inner ones for salads) and very quickly saute them in a pan of olive oil with a little salt and pepper – just enough to wilt them.

Serve hearty slices of the Wellington alongside the sauteed potatoes and wilted baby gems. A classic mustard vinaigrette makes a great dressing.