Recipe#1488

Title: Beef Wellington 05

From: thanisa@df.lth.se (Emma Fernlund) 
 Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes 
 Subject: Beef Wellington 
 Date: 14 Feb 1998 19:17:08 -0700 
 Message-ID: <6bo3ku$g75$5@news.lth.se> 

3 1/2 pound fillet of beef tied with thin sheets of larding fat at room temp
 3/4 pound mushrooms, chopped fine
 2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
 1/2 pound pate de foie gras (available at specialty food shops) at room temp
 1 pound puff paste or thawed frozen puff pastry plus additional for garnish 
 1 large egg white, beaten
 an egg wash made by beating 1 large egg yolk with 1 teaspoon water
 1/2 cup Sercial Madeira
 2 teaspoons arrowroot dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold water
 1/2 cup beef broth
 2 tablespoons finely chopped black truffles, if desired
 watercress for garnish if desired
 In a roasting pan roast the beef in the middle of a preheated 400
 F.  oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer registers
 120 Let the fillet cool completely and discard the larding fat and
 the strings.  Skim the fat from the pan juices and reserve the pan
 juices.  In a heavy skillet cook the mushrooms in the butter over
 moderately low heat, stirring, until all the liquid they give off
 is evaporated and the mixture is dry, season them with salt and
 pepper, and let them dry completely.
 Spread the fillet evenly with the pate de foie gras, covering the
 top and sides, and spread the mushrooms evenly over the pate de
 foie gras.  On a floured surface roll 1 pound of the puff paste
 into a rectangle about 20 by 12 inches, or large enough to enclose
 the fillet completely, invert the coated fillet onto the middle of
 the dough, and fold up the long sides of the dough to enclose the
 fillet, brushing the edges of the dough with some of the egg white
 to seal them.  Folt the ends of the dough over the fillet and seal
 them with the remaining egg white.  Transfer the fillet, seam side
 down, to a jelly roll pan or shallow roasting pan and brush the
 dough with some of the egg wash.  Roll out the additional dough
 and cut out shapes with decorative cutters.  Arrange the cutouts
 on the dough decoratively, brush them with the remaining egg wash,
 and chill the fillet for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours.  Bake
 the fillet in the middle of a preheated 400 F.  oven for 30 minutes,
 reduce the heat to 350 F. and bake the fillet for 5 to 10 minutes
 more, or until a meat thermometer registers 130 F.  for medium rare
 meat and the pastry is cooked through.  Let the fillet stand for
 15 minutes.
 In a saucepan boil the reserved pan juices and the Madeira until
 the mixture is reduced by one fourth.  Add the arrowroot mixture,
 the broth, the truffles, and salt and pepper to taste and cook the
 sauce over moderate heat, stirring, being careful not to let it
 boil, for 5 minutes, or until it is thickened.
 Loosen the fillet from the pan, transfer it with 2 spatulas to a
 heated platter, and garnish it with the watercress.  Serve the
 fillet, cut into 3/4 inch slices, with the sauce.  Serves 8.
 PUFF PASTE
 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
 2 3/4 sticks (1 cup plus 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter 
 1 teaspoon salt
 In a bowl combine 2 cups of the flour, 4 tablespoons of the butter,
 cut into bits, and the salt and blend the mixture until it resembles
 meal.  Stir in 1/3 cup ice water and, if necessary, continue to
 add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture forms a soft
 dough.  Gather the dough into a ball, form it into a 5 inch square,
 and dust it lightly with flour.  Chill the dough, wrapped in wax
 paper, for 30 minutes, or until it is firm but not hard.
 In a bowl combine the remaining 2 1/4 sticks butter, cut into bits,
 with the remaining 1/4 cup flour and toss the mixture to coat the
 butter with the flour.  Knead the butter and the flour together
 and form the mixture into a rough square.  Put the square between
 sheets of wax paper and with a rolling pin press it into a 5 inch
 square.  Remove the paper, dust the square well with flour, and
 wrap it in another sheet of wax paper.  Chill the butter mixture
 until it is firm but not hard.  (The dough and the butter should
 be of equal firmness.)
 Roll the dough into an 8 inch square on a floured surface.  Lay
 the butter diagonally in the center of the square and roll the four
 visible corners of the dough into 6 inch strips.  (The dough will
 form an X around the butter.)  Fold each strip of dough over the
 butter to enclose the butter completely and turn the dough over,
 sprinkling the work surface and the dough with flour.  With the
 rolling pin flatten the dough with uniform impressions and roll it
 into a 12 by 6 inch rectangle.  Turn the dough over, brush off any
 excess flour, and fold the top third of the rectangle over the
 center and the bottom third over the top, forming a rectangle about
 6 by 4 inches.
 Turn the folded dough seam side down so that an open end faces you.
 With the rolling pin flatten the dough with uniform impressions.
 Roll the dough from the center away from you to within 1/2 inch of
 the end.  Flatten the ends gently with uniform impressions but do
 not roll the pin over the ends ot the air and butter will be
 expelled.  Reverse the strip on the surface, flouring the surface
 as necessary, and again roll the dough from the center away from
 you to make a rectangle about 12 inches long.  Turn the dough seam
 side up, brush any excess flour from it, and fold the rectangle in
 thirds as before.  This completes 2 "turns."  Chill the dough,
 wrapped in plastic, for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days.