Beef fillet stuffed with porcini

Beef Wellington? Too much hassle

Beef Wellington might be a very nice dish but preparing it is far too stressful. The beef fillet needs to be seared, and then left to stand so that when it goes into the oven in its blanket of pastry, you have not a flying clue how cooked it already is.

Truffles? Foie gras? What if your diners are truffle objectors or goose rights activists? You’re stuffed, not the wellington. The next hurdle: the beef will cook quicker than the pastry, at least if you want it cooked medium rare and pink, by the book.

And so the outcome might be serving overdone beef in crispy pastry or underbaked, pale and limpid pastry parcels that half the guests will be furiously scraping the stuffing from, sending you resentful glances.

I must be painfully honest and admit I’ve not actually cooked a Wellington from scratch. But as I have explained above, I can visualise the process from the beginning to end, assess as not worth the bother and go to produce something else.

Like the roulade stuffed with wild mushroom duxelles.

Stuff the beef fillet! with mushrooms.

The first good thing about it is that we don’t bother with truffles or foie gras - the beef fillet costs a packet already. It is the alternative Wellington filling: mushroom duxelles, which is a fragrant, finely chopped or blitzed mushroom paste.

I choose to use dried porcini mushrooms which are of course second best to fresh ones, but second to none in the dried mushroom department. Rehydrated, they will almost fool you.

How to prepare porcini duxelles

It is a simple preparation. The dried mushrooms soak in boiling water and I keep them there until the liquid has cooled down enough for me to fish the 'shrooms out with my fingers.

I drop them onto foaming butter and let them cook quite vigorously for a while, gradually adding back the soaking liquor to let the porcini absorb it back.

When it's all gone, a stick blender blitzes them chunkily or more smoothly, as you like, and handfuls of grated Parmesan and parsley amplify the already significant umami factor. Cool it down slightly, and it's ready to be spread lovingly over the butterflied beef fillet.

Wait, what?

How to butterfly beef fillet

The butterflying and filling the fillet is more straightforward than it sounds, and the video below may help. If you get a good middle cut of fillet, all you do is open it up like a book with a sharp knife. The incision begins on the side, close to the bottom of the fillet, and following that you continue, turning the meat as you cut deeper.

Once the fillet is opened up like a book, spread with the stuffing and roll it up again and secure with butcher's string.

Roasting time, as ever for beef, is 20 minutes per pound in low-ish oven, followed by an obligatory rest of at least ten minutes.

And it’s so delicious, flavoursome and fragrant with the mushrooms you won’t be missing that limp or burnt puff pastry for one second.

More beef recipes

Burger wellingtons with mushrooms and shallots wrapped in puff pastry, an easy version of beef Wellington. It’s a fancy dish for dummies, it’s your Valentine’s Day dinner this year.

Reverse seared ribeye steak served with umami flavoured compound butter. The perfect steak, cooked in reverse: first low temperature, then a blast of heat.

Spicy seared bavette steak, seasoned with a dry rub of chilli flakes, oregano, garlic and a secret umami agent: dried mushroom powder.

More impressive main course recipes

Lamb loin, or cannon of lamb, wrapped in prosciutto with rosemary and thyme, roasted in low temperature oven. The finest dining easily made!

Chicken saltimbocca, thin escalopes of chicken fillet layered with sage leaves, Parmesan and Parma ham. Saltimbocca is classically made with veal but the chicken version is easier and delicious.

Scaloppine al vino bianco, veal escalope in white wine sauce is fit for the smartest dinner party. It’s the dish that illustrates the expression ‘easy fine cooking’!