Beef Wellington: Crowd-pleasing classics

Beef Wellington and Coq au Vin are great recipes to have in your repertoire for feeding a crowd, writes DOMINI KEMP

THIS WEEK’S recipes are classics that you rarely see on menus any more, and despite how old fashioned they may seem, they are absolute gems. They fill you with a sense of nostalgic occasion and are simply a great combination of flavours.

I’ve seen recipes for beef Wellington that have everything from English mustard to liver and pancakes wrapped around the beef fillet. Personally, I prefer less. Much less. So I tend to stick to three components, besides the really well-seared-off beef: finely diced mushrooms sautéed with some onion and a splash of cream and decisively cooked until very, very dry, an extremely generous amount of Parma ham that will encase the meat and mushrooms, and a snug layer of all-butter puff pastry – the seams of which have had a good lick of egg yolk wash.

I stay away from pancakes, which I think just add an extra layer of stodge we really don’t need. After that, some careful chilling and a hot oven is all that’s required. But please make sure you cut decent-sized portions, rather than try to go for “waffer” thin slices. You’ll just end up messing the damn thing up.

I suppose the tricky bit is getting the timing right for cooking the beef. It’s fair to say that if you have chilled the parcel down sufficiently in the fridge before hand, and it is very cold before it goes in the oven, it will mean that the pastry gets a chance to really brown beautifully before the meat cooks too much inside. I found that approximately 15 minutes in the oven at 190 degrees/gas 5 works. But use your eyes for this one and when it looks gorgeous and golden brown, then chances are it’s perfectly cooked inside. Also, please note that this dish requires careful wrapping in both the Parma ham and pastry. If the mushrooms can seep out of the Parma ham, then they will seep out to the pastry (and make it soggy).

I served this with a hybrid of bread sauce and horseradish sauce and it works a treat with the beef. Keep this condiment/side dish up your sleeve for any time you’re serving beef, or if you want to make a jazzier version of bread sauce this Christmas.

The other classic is Coq au Vin. I cooked this in the oven and then cooled it down and re-heated it on the stove. The breast meat got a little tough with re-heating, but the legs and wings were very tender and unctuous. They are definitely good cuts for this dish, but do chuck in a few breasts for the fussier folk. I like this dish to really taste of the “vin” but feel free to use half a bottle and reduce the liquid for less time at the end.

Beef Wellington

Serves 4

If you are serving more people, make several rather than one big long piece, as the end bits will probably get too well done and it will be tricky to move from A to B

4 tbsps olive oil

50g butter

Salt and pepper

Sprinkle of caster sugar

Approx 700-800g fillet of beef, whole piece

1 onion, peeled and very finely chopped

Few sprigs thyme

4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

250g button mushrooms, very finely diced

Splash of cream

8-12 slices Parma ham

Approx 250g ready-made puff pastry

2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

Heat half the olive oil and half the butter in a large frying pan or chargrill pan until it is very hot. Sprinkle the top of the beef with salt, pepper and a little sugar and brown the meat, seasoned side down. Sprinkle some more seasoning on to the top surface and then turn it over and sear the other side till you get plenty of charred colour, without any real cooking of the interior. Try to do this so that the beef is seasoned well and nicely caramelised on all sides. Remove it from the pan, allow it to cool down and refrigerate until ready to use.

Heat up the rest of the olive oil and butter and fry the onion till soft. Add the thyme, garlic and mushrooms. Cook on a high heat – you want to cook the hell out of the mushrooms so you end up with a very dry mixture. Add the cream, season and cook again until the mixture is uber tasty and dry. Set aside to cool.

When the beef and mushrooms are cold, lay out three sheets of cling film, one on top of another, to give extra strength to your parcel. Lay out a large blanket of Parma ham slices and spread it lightly with a layer of mushrooms. Place the beef in the centre, and wrap it all up by rolling the cling film – almost as you would for rolling a swiss roll – so that you end up with a tight log shape. Twist the ends of the cling film tightly, and chill the parcel for a few hours.

When the pastry has defrosted, roll it out quite thinly and cut it into one neat rectangle. Unwrap the clingfilm from the beef parcel and place the meat lengthways in the centre of the pastry. Trim away excess pastry so that the beef can be rolled and wrapped snugly. Brush the pastry rim generously with egg yolk and wrap up the beef parcel, ensuring that the mushrooms do not poke through any gaps. Cut away any excess pastry at the ends. Dip your fingers in water and use them to smooth out the seams and ensure the pastry is snug against the beef. Then place the ugly sealed side down on to a plate that you’ve lined with some greaseproof paper. Brush the entire parcel with egg yolk and chill until ready to bake.

Heat an oven to 190 degrees/gas 5 and preheat a non-stick baking sheet. Just before baking, lightly score the pastry with a sharp knife, but don’t cut all the way through. Cook the beef, straight from the fridge – seam side down – until the pastry is golden-brown and the beef medium rare, which should take about 15 minutes. If you want the meat cooked more, just watch the pastry doesn’t burn, so turn down the oven to 170 degrees/gas 3 and bake for an extra five to 10 minutes. But when the pastry is a lovely golden brown, it should be perfect inside. Allow to rest for at least eight minutes before carving.

Horseradish bread sauce

Makes enough for 8-10 generous spoonfuls

I horseradish, peeled and grated

5 slices of white bread, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

2 good tsps English mustard

2 tsps caster sugar

100ml olive oil

200g crème fraiche

Salt

100ml water

3 tbsps white wine vinegar

Mix everything together in a blender until smooth. Season to taste. Serve warm or chilled. This keeps fine in the fridge for a few days.

Coq au Vin

You don’t have to add in any flour, but if you don’t, then you may have to reduce the cooking sauce down a bit at the end.

Serves 6

2 tbsp olive oil

50g butter

8-10 chicken pieces: breasts, thighs, legs, skin on

Salt and pepper

10 pieces smoked streaky bacon, diced

1-2 onions, peeled and finely diced

250g button mushrooms, cut into quarters

6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

2 bay leaves

Few sprigs thyme

2 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp flour

500ml chicken stock

1 bottle red wine

Preheat an oven to 160 degrees/gas mark 3. Heat some olive oil and a little butter in a large lidded saucepan that is oven proof. When it is good and hot, fry the chicken pieces, in batches if necessary, until brown on all sides, and season really well. Put the chicken pieces to one side, and then drain the fat from the pan and discard it. Heat the rest of the olive oil and butter and fry the diced bacon until golden brown and then add the onions and sweat them until soft. Add the mushrooms, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and tomato puree. Mix really well and season. Then add the flour and stir well and cook out the flour for a few minutes. Then add in the stock and wine gradually, so that not too many lumps form.

When the mixture is simmering, add the chicken back in. Put it all in the oven and cook for about an hour. You may want to remove the lid halfway through cooking if you want to make the sauce thicker. Alternatively, remove the chicken and then put the saucepan back on the hob and boil gently until reduced sufficiently.

The chicken can also be cooled down fully and re-heated – simmer for at least five minutes. Serve with mash or rice.