If you're anything like me, I'd venture a guess that you haven't spent much time making yourself, your home, or your meals very fancy lately. I have consciously chosen comfort over elegance for the past 67 days (but who's counting) of this quarantine. I've craved it. Cocooning in my home, wondering what to expect from this new way of life calls for unapologetic ease and comfort. I'm (mostly) wearing sweats or yoga pants, snuggling under blankets, and enjoying at least one meal a day from the solace of my sofa. While this practice has made life a bit more bearable, I've started to miss the fancy a little bit. The fancy, which has a side effect of making life not more bearable but more enjoyable, needed a renaissance in my house. So I'm bringing fancy back, but in an easy everyday way, with my Deconstructed Beef Wellington. It's fuss-free fancy, and it will definitely make your day better.
Aren't they cute? And easier to make than you might think
Beef Wellington is fancy food. A whole tenderloin of beef, covered with mushroom duxelles (a saucy mushroom spread) and pâté, ensconced in buttery puff pastry is the epitome of fancy. It's made with expensive ingredients and served at parties, typically only when you're celebrating something really special. To enjoy this delicacy on a weeknight is truly decadent and maybe even a bit naughty. But not the way I made it. By using some easy to find grocery store supplies and bits and scraps found in the refrigerator and freezer, you can make this amazing meal and fancy up your life too. Serve it on the good china and make it really special (we ate outside so I used my un-fancy melamine, but baby steps). We all deserve a return to fancy, and fuss-free fancy is the way back.
Everyday elegance
What makes this super easy is that we've deconstructed it, using pre-fab puff pastry shells. You can find these in the freezer section of most grocery stores and they are a cinch to prepare. Once baked, I brushed a little Dijon mustard inside (because, what's fancier than Grey Poupon?) I omitted the pâté (didn't miss it), made a traditional duxelles with chopped mushrooms and onions, sautéed in butter, enhanced with a little sherry and cream, and brightened with fresh thyme and parsley. The beef was leftover scraps (beef tips) frozen from a whole tenderloin we had at Christmas. I only had about 3/4 a pound of meat total, but it went pretty far. Sautéed in butter and simply seasoned with salt and pepper, it was a breeze to do. We served it with roasted asparagus and a green salad. I hope you'll add a little elegance into your week with this simple, delicious meal.
Deconstructed Beef Wellington (Serves 4)
Ingredients
4 puff pastry shells, baked according to package instructions on parchment paper (we used Pepperidge Farm)
4 tsps Dijon mustard
1 (8 oz) package of white button mushrooms, finely chopped
1/2 chopped onion
4 tbsp butter, divided
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley
1 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
3/4 lb beef tenderloin (filet mignon) or sirloin, cubed
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Bake pastry shells according to package directions and pop tops off when they cool. Brush the inside of each one with a little Dijon Mustard.
Prepare duxelles by sautéing mushrooms and onions in 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. When soft, add salt and pepper to taste. Add thyme. Deglaze pan with sherry, and reduce sherry until you can barely see any in the pan. Add cream and bring to a bubble, then reduce to simmer. Add parsley. Keep warm.
Prepare the beef by heating a cast iron (or other heavy pan) over the highest heat on your stove for three minutes or until super hot. Add oil and swirl around until it shimmers. Add beef, season with salt and pepper, and stir. Brown on all sides. For medium rare, this only takes a couple minutes. Add remaining butter, melt and glaze beef with butter. It makes a lovely pan sauce.
To build your Wellingtons, add some duxelles in the bottom of each pastry shell, over the mustard. Add some beef. Add a little more duxelles and put top of the shell on. To serve, add the remaining beef to the plate with the Wellington and top with the pan sauce.
Comments