This is the perfect dish for entertaining as almost everything can be done in advance leaving the host/ess relaxed and ready to enjoy their company

Beef Wellington with Au jus

. To get this meal to the table all at the same time:

• Prepare the mushroom duxelle up to a day in advance
• Prep the beef up to a day in advance. Refrigerate until ready to go into the oven.
• Assemble the beef wellington earlier in the day and then held refrigerated until ready to bake. Pull it out of the refrigerator about 1 hour before placing in the oven.
• The beans can be cooked and refreshed up to a day in advance. Store refrigerated until ready to finish.
• Caramelize the shallots up to 1 day in advance and store refrigerated until ready to finish.
• The jus can be done up to a day in advance. It may thicken a bit as it sits so you might need to thin it down with a bit of water just before serving.
• The potatoes can’t be prepped too far in advance as they will brown.
• Chop the rosemary the day before.
• The dessert can be done a full day ahead.
• Slice the oranges the day before but have them covered in the fridge.
• Whip the cream earlier in the day and store it in a piping bag in the fridge ready to use at the last minute,

This mixture is called a duxelle and a classic French preparation, I use it as a filling for pastas and crepes so this is a great recipe to have in anyone’s repertoire.

400 gm mushrooms, roughly chopped, approximately 12 large mushrooms
1 shallot, finely diced
¼ tsp salt
Generous grinds of pepper

Process the above until it is finely diced, using the pulse function. You don’t want a paste but a fine chop still with texture.

1 tsp oil

Place the oil in a pan over medium high heat and add the mushroom mixture. It is better if you don’t use a non stick pan as you really want to develop some great fond – those brown bits that stick to the bottom of the pan. Sauté just until there is no more liquid coming from the mushrooms and the mixture is starting to brown. Cool well before using.

1 kg fillet of beef, centre cut or see below for individual servings
1 Tablespoon oil
Salt and pepper

Have your butcher cut the filet from the centre so that you get an evenly shaped roast. Remove the silver skin or have your butcher do this for you. Season all around with salt and pepper, but not too much salt as the prosciutto adds salt as well. Heat the oil in the same pan as you used for the mushrooms, over medium high heat and sear the beef on all sides. Do this as quickly as possible as you don’t want to cook the beef, just sear the outside. Don’t wash the pan yet as you have build up several layers of flavours that you will use later.

2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

Cool the beef and then smear the entire surface of the beef with the mustard and put aside in the refrigerator.

12 slices prosciutto

Lay 2 sheets of plastic wrap on a clean working surface. The plastic wrap needs to be large enough to contain the beef. Lay the prosciutto over the plastic wrap overlapping to form a rectangle large enough to fully wrap around the beef. Cover the prosciutto with the mushroom mixture. Lay the beef in the centre of the prosciutto and use the plastic wrap to bring the prosciutto over the beef. Wrap the plastic wrap well around the beef being sure that the prosciutto completely covers the beef. Seal the ends of the plastic wrap and twist the ends to make the roll as tight as possible. Refrigerate the roll until you are ready to proceed.

Puff pastry, thawed

1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water – this is an egg wash

Working on a clean lightly floured counter, roll out the puff pastry in a rectangle large enough to fully enclose the beef. Be sure to use a generous amount of puff pastry to fully enclose the beef. If you are using already rolled pastry, you might need to use 2 sheets. Remove the plastic wrap and place the beef in the centre of the pastry prosciutto seam side up. Wrap the pastry around the beef sealing all edges well with the egg wash. Trim the ends and you can use the left over pastry to make cut outs to decorate the top. Use the rounded end of a fork to seal the pastry well. Brush the entire surface with the egg wash.

To cook, place the beef in a preheated 450°F oven and bake until the beef has reached an internal temperature of 130°F for rare to medium rare, 145° for medium. This will take approximately 20 – 30 minutes only. Place the beef in a warm oven and rest it for 10 minutes before cutting.

While this works well for larger groups where everyone like their beef cooked to the same degree of doneness, it does not work for everyone. For example, in our house, I love my beef medium rare while Doug likes it medium well so I do individual portions for the 2 of us.

I follow exactly the same recipe but use 6 oz steaks instead of a large roast. It works just as well but the cooking time is a bit less than for a full roast.

Jus
1 shallot finely diced
2 Tablespoons red wine
1 cup beef stock

To make the au jus, use the same pan as you used for the mushrooms and beef and sauté the shallots just until they are translucent. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and then add the beef stock. This is where you want to get all the fond off the bottom of the pan so that you have a really flavourful sauce.

1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon water

Combine the flour and water together well and whisk into the au jus. Simmer until the raw flavour of the flour has been cooked out. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Serve alongside the beef.

Roast Nugget Potatoes
1 pound nugget potatoes
Oil as required
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, leaves removed from the stems and roughly chopped
Salt and pepper as required

Do not peel the potatoes. Cut them in half. Toss with oil, salt, pepper and the rosemary. Place in a roasting pan. At the same time as you add the medium beef Wellington, place the potatoes in the oven. Roast for20 minutes, flip and continue to roast until soft when pierced by a fork.

Green Beans with Caramelized Shallots
1 pound green beans (if you can’t get fresh use frozen whole beans)
Water and salt as required

Bring the water to the boil, add the salt and the green beans. Cook the beans for 3 minutes if using fresh, 2 minutes if using frozen. Refresh the beans in cold water and set aside.

2 large shallots, peeled and cut into thin rings
1 tsp oil
Salt and pepper as required
1 tsp sugar

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the shallots and season well with salt and pepper. Cook over medium high heat until soft and just starting to brown. Turn the heat to low and add the sugar. Cook until the shallots are well browned but not burnt. Add the blanched green beans to the shallots and heat through. Serve with the beef wellington, the jus and potatoes.

Rum Baba

 ½ cup milk
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
½ cup flour

In a small saucepan, heat the milk over medium heat just until it starts to shimmer. Do not let it boil. Remove from the heat and cool to lukewarm. It should feel just warm when you put a drop on the inside of your wrist.

In the bowl of a mixer, combine the milk, yeast and 1/2 cup of the flour and let sit until foamy. Stir to make it smooth and let it sit in the bowl until it has doubled in volume, about 20 minutes.

3 large eggs
1½ cup flour
2 teaspoons sugar
Pinch salt
Zest of ½ a lemon
Zest of ½ a large orange

Add the eggs one at a time to the batter and mix until the egg is completely incorporated into the batter. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix together well.

½ cup softened butter

Add the butter and mix in well until you have a very smooth batter.

Transfer the batter to a bowl, cover with a clean towel and let it sit until it has doubled in size, approximately 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter and flour a bundt pan and place the dough in the pan. Cover with a towel and let the cake rest until it has risen almost to the top of the pan. Bake in the oven until the top is golden brown and the cake is just starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, approximately 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack.

Rum Soaking Syrup
3 cups water
2 cups sugar
Zest of 1½ lemons
Zest of ½ large orange
1 tsp pure vanilla

½ cup good quality dark rum

While the cake is baking make the syrup. In a medium saucepan, combine all of the ingredients except the rum. Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and let stand for 30 minutes. Add the rum.

Strain through a fine mesh strainer and discard the solids. Cover to keep warm for soaking the baba.

Let the cake cool for 10 minutes and then using a large wooden skewer, poke holes all over the top of the cake. Drizzle the syrup over the cake letting it slowly be absorbed by the cake. Let the cake sit for about 20 minutes to absorb the syrup.

1/4 cup dark rum

Turn the baba out onto the wire rack and let drain over the sheet tray for 30 minutes. Drizzle the rum over the cake in 2 additions. Transfer to a serving platter or stand.

2 cups whipping cream
2 tablespoons icing sugar
1 teaspoon dark rum

Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and rum and whip just to combine. Garnish slices of baba with the whipped cream and serve with orange wedges.

Cathie Hamilton
Certified Culinary Scientist
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