Serves 6

Prep time 30 mins, cook 40-45 mins (plus cooling, chilling, resting)

It's a prime cut of beef with a heavenly mix of pâté and mushrooms in a golden parcel of puff. What's not to love?

Beef Wellington may have been the go-to dinner party dish of the 1960s, and it may (or may not) have been named after a 17th-century duke, but its origins date back even earlier, to Roman times.
There's little reliable evidence as to the origins of beef Wellington, a fillet of beef topped with pâté and mushrooms then baked in pastry, but the most popular theory is that it was named after the first Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, an Anglo-Irishman who fought Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo in 1815. Wellington is said to have enjoyed a dish prepared with beef, pâté, truffles, mushrooms and Madeira cooked in pastry. Of course the French dish filet de boeuf en croûte is similar, but without "Wellington" in the name.
Whatever the dish's origins, the technique of cooking meat in pastry dates back to Roman times, when a pastry made of flour, oil and water was used to cover meat and poultry during cooking, keeping it moist.
By the 15th century, according to Alan Davidson's The Oxford Companion to Food, a stiffer "huff paste" of flour, suet and water was used as a casing for meat. The pastry case kept it moist and flavoursome and protected it from contamination upon standing; however, the pastry was not eaten.
Today, buttery (and perfectly edible) puff pastry is most commonly used to wrap the beef, although some recipes employ brioche dough. Still other cooks wrap the mushroom-topped fillet in crêpes to prevent the pastry from becoming soggy.
A fillet of beef is perfect for beef Wellington because of its shape and tenderness. Searing the beef browns the outside, which lends extra flavour; the meat is then cooled before it's spread with pâté, which in some recipes is made from foie gras, or enriched with truffles, or both. A layer of duxelles, a cooked mixture of mushrooms, onions and shallots, is pressed over the fillet, which is then wrapped in pastry.
Beef Wellington is perfect for a party because it can be prepared ahead of time, brushed with eggwash and set aside in the refrigerator. Then simply bake it in a hot oven until the pastry is puffed and golden and you have a real show-stopper on your hands.

Step-by-step instructions

For duxelles, heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add mushrooms, cook until golden (3-4 minutes). Add butter, shallot, garlic and thyme, sauté until tender (2-3 minutes), add Madeira and cook until evaporated (1-2 minutes). Season to taste, transfer to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Set aside to cool, then drain to remove excess liquid.


Stir pâté until smooth, then stir through duxelles and refrigerate until required.


Heat oil in a large frying pan over high heat, season beef to taste, seal in pan until golden (1-2 minutes each side). Set aside to cool.


Roll pastry sheets separately on a lightly floured surface to 4cm longer than beef fillet. Spread a quarter of the duxelles over one sheet of pastry, place fillet on top then spread remaining duxelles over beef. Brush edges with eggwash and cover with remaining pastry. Trim pastry edges, leaving a 3cm border, and press with a fork to seal. Place on a tray lined with baking paper and refrigerate to chill (30 minutes).


Preheat oven to 220C. Brush pastry with eggwash and bake until pastry is golden and puffed and beefed is cooked (25-30 minutes for medium-rare). Set aside to rest (10 minutes) then thickly slice and serve with potatoes and vegetables.