Recipe for Beef Wellington with a Tarragon Twist!

This month, we’re featuring a showstopping beef Wellington recipe with a tarragon twist. Happy cooking and eating!

Sasha Conlan, Founder of Sasha’s Fine Foods
Recipe adapted from Mary Berry (bbc.co.uk)
(Serves six)

Ingredients

• 1kg New Zealand Premium Angus Beef Tenderloin Fillet
• 1 tablespoon Oilala extra virgin olive oil
• 1¼ packets of all-butter puff pastry (375g per packet)
• Plain flour, for dusting
• 1 egg, beaten with a dash of Hokkaido fresh milk
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients for the topping

• Large knob of butter
• 350g mixed mushrooms (such as button, chestnut, wild), thinly sliced
• 50g Italian Parmigiano Reggiano DOP, finely grated
•  1 tablespoon finely chopped french tarragon
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard • 1 egg yolk

Ingredients for the tarragon sauce

• Small knob of butter
• 100g white mushrooms, finely sliced
• 1 tablespoon plain flour
• 400ml full-fat crème fraîche
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped French tarragon
• A pinch of sugar

Instructions for the topping

1. Melt butter in pan and fry mushrooms over high heat for 5 to 10 minutes. You may need to do this in batches.
2. Tip mushrooms into a sieve set over a bowl to collect the juices; reserve these for the sauce.
3. Transfer mushrooms to another bowl and allow to cool before mixing with the parmesan, tarragon, mustard and egg yolk. Season with salt and pepper and chill in fridge for 30 minutes.

Instructions for the tarragon sauce

1. 1. Melt butter in same frying pan and fry mushrooms over high heat for 5 to 10 minutes or until juices evaporate.
2. Sprinkle in flour and add crème fraîche with reserved mushroom juices (from the topping), plus the mustard and tarragon.
3. Season with salt, pepper and sugar; bring to a boil, stirring. 4. Simmer for three minutes until reduced slightly; add any beef juices from original baking tray.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C.
2. Season beef with salt and pepper. Add oil to large frying pan over high heat; fry beef on all sides until browned. Transfer to baking tray and roast for 15 to 18 minutes. (Add five minutes for medium doneness, or 10 minutes for well done.)
3. Remove beef and leave to cool, reserving any cooking juices, then chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
4. Line baking sheet with baking paper. Place 375g packet of pastry on a floured work surface and roll to a 40cm square. Transfer to baking sheet.
5. Place cooked beef to one side of pastry and spoon mushroom mixture on top. Fold the pastry ends, then fold the longest edge over the beef, sealing along the side with a little egg wash.
6. Chill in fridge for 30 minutes; meanwhile, preheat oven again to 220°C.
7. Brush top of chilled beef Wellington with egg wash. Roll out the remaining ¼ block of pastry and cut into eight thin strips.
8. Lay four strips diagonally across the top of the beef Wellington, and four strips across these to create a lattice pattern. Brush lattice with egg wash.
9. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes or until the pastry is golden-brown and crisp.
10. Allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving. Slice thickly and serve with hot tarragon sauce.

Shop the ingredients at sashasfinefoods.com.

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This article first appeared in the September 2021 edition of Expat Living. You can purchase the latest issue or subscribe so you never miss a copy!

Dinesh Ajith

Dinesh is a seasoned writer and editor with seven years of experience covering travel, restaurants and bars. His interests include film photography, cheesy 90s monster flicks, and scouring the island for under-the-radar craft beer bars.