Charlotte’s recipe to give it some Welly this Valentine’s Day!

With couples unable to enjoy a night out at a restaurant this Sunday, many will be trying to make something extra special in their own kitchens.

Charlotte Seddon's recipe for Valentine's Day Beef Wellington

There is no denying Beef Wellington is an impressive centre piece to a meal.

2020 Masterchef semi-finalist Charlotte Seddon, of Shotton, says although it is not the cheapest meal it is a perfect dish to evoke a romantic meal for two at a restaurant.

Charlotte Seddon's recipe for Valentine's Day Beef Wellington

Charlotte said: “With Valentine’s Day coming up it’s the perfect special meal you can make to impress your other half and its not as difficult as people expect.

“Although it’s one of the more expensive meals to cook at home its still a fraction of the price of what you would be paying in a restaurant on Valentines Day, so make the most of being stuck inside and treat yourself.”

Charlotte Seddon's recipe for Valentine's Day Beef Wellington

Charlotte added: “The key thing to remember is to cook your steak as you like it at the beginning, when you cook the welly in the oven later on all you want to be doing is cooking the pastry rather than putting more heat through the centre. Also make sure you rest the beef after cooking for as long as possible to stop the juices running into the pastry.

“As always, I would recommend getting your steak from your butchers, it supports local businesses, and it does taste better. My butchers S J Bebbington in Lache provided this 400g piece of fillet steak, it cost £19 and there was enough for three large portions, if you have husbands like mine you need enough for three people!”

Charlotte Seddon's recipe for Valentine's Day Beef Wellington

Ingredients:

350g - 400g centre fillet steak

300g mushrooms (mix of shiitake and chestnut)

4 sprigs thyme

100ml white wine

8 slices of prosciutto

English mustard

½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce

50g duck or chicken livers

1 egg

500g puff pastry

Method:

1. Make sure the steak has come to room temperature before you start and season the fillet steak with salt and pepper

2. Heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat and a tbsp butter and a tbsp olive oil and sear the meat all over until it is brown on all sides (around 2-3mins per side) and cooked to your liking

3. Remove the steak from the pan and place on a wire rack above a tray (keep the frying pan for later do not clean it)

4. Brush the steak with English mustard whilst still warm an allow the rest whilst you make the mushrooms

5. Finely chop the mushrooms (it can be easier to use a food processor but make sure you pulse so it doesn’t turn into a paste)

6. Heat the frying pan from before over a medium heat and add 2tbsp butter

7. When foaming add the mushrooms and cook for around 10-15 minutes until all the liquid has gone

8. Add the thyme leaves and Worcestershire sauce (if using add the chicken livers) and stir through

9. Add white wine then season with salt and pepper and cook for another 8-10minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed

10. Put the mushroom mixture into a sieve over a bowl and leave to cool completely

11. Lay out two layers of clingfilm and place the prosciutto slices on top ensuring they overlap in two rows

12. Place half of the mushroom mixture on top of the prosciutto then place the fillet steak on top of the mushroom and cover the steak in the remaining mushroom mixture

13. Lift the clingfilm and use it to wrap the rest of the prosciutto around the steak and mushrooms

14. Wrap it as tight as possible and roll it against the worktop in order to get it into a nice cylinder shape and keep rolling to twist the ends. Don’t worry if some excess prosciutto gets wrapped in the ends of the clingfilm you can trim this when its unwrapped

15. Place the steak back in the fridge for 20mins

16. Meanwhile roll out two separate sheets of puff pastry large enough to wrap around the steak around 2mm thick. You can use the wrapped steak to check the size and trim as needed

17. Lay out another two sheets of clingfilm larger than the sheet of puff pastry and lay one of the sheets on top

18. Remove the steak from the fridge and unwrap it from the clingfilm placing it in at the end of the puff pastry

19. Using the clingfilm in the same way as before wrap the steak in the puff pastry, make sure it is as tight as possible Twist the ends of the clingfilm to tighten it further around the steak and make sure the puff pastry closes in at the end of the steak

20. Beat the egg with a splash of water, remove the clingfilm from your wellington and place it on the tray you are going to use to cook the wellington, brush the egg wash all over the welly

Charlotte Seddon's recipe for Valentine's Day Beef Wellington

21. To achieve the pattern in the picture you will need a lattice pastry cutter (you can buy one cheaply on places like Amazon) if you don’t have one you can cut out any shapes you like in order to decorate your welly

22. Roll the lattice cutter over the other piece of puff pastry and lift it onto the egg washed wellington spreading out the design, cutting off any excess at the bottom

23. Give the welly another coat of egg wash

24. When ready to cook preheat the oven to 185 degrees and cook for 20-25mintues until the pastry is brown

25. Serve with veg of your choice