Perfectly roasted beef tenderloin in buttery puff pastry and Parma ham, crispy fries with Parmesan and crispy red cabbage with romanesco. A large piece of meat always sounds so intimidating, but it’s simply a matter of timing it well. FavorFlav’s Naresh explains exactly how to make Beef Wellington. 

Making Beef Wellington

This iconic dish is all about the perfect combination of tender beef fillet and a crispy puff pastry crust. The risk of unevenly cooked meat or a soggy crust makes Beef Wellington a real test for any chef. Don’t panic—we’ll help you make it a success.

For the fries

1. Cut the Agria potatoes into fries and place them in cold water for at least half an hour. Cut the Vitelotte potatoes into 3 mm slices lengthwise and place them in cold water as well.
2. Drain and pat dry.
3. Heat a pan (or deep fryer) with sunflower oil to 140 degrees and fry the potatoes in two batches for about 5 minutes, until they are nicely yellow, soft inside and not yet golden on the outside. Fry the Vitelotte potatoes for 2 minutes.
4. Pat the fries dry with kitchen paper and let them cool. You can easily do this first step a day in advance, because a night in the fridge only makes them even more delicious!

For the beef tenderloin

1. Heat a frying pan with a thin layer of olive oil.
2. Take the beef tenderloin fillet and season it generously with salt and pepper. Once the pan is very hot, quickly sear the piece of meat on all sides so it won’t lose much moisture during the later cooking process. Fry the piece of meat for about 15 seconds on each side. Then place the meat in the fridge and let it cool. Save the oil in which the meat was fried for the vegetables in the final stage.
3. Clean the mushrooms (without water) and chop them finely. Place them in a searing-hot pan without oil or butter, but season them with some salt and pepper.
4. Fry the mushrooms in the pan until all the moisture has evaporated, then sprinkle with some thyme leaves.
5. Place a piece of cling film on the work surface and arrange the slices of Parma ham in two adjacent rows, neatly overlapping halfway. Place the mushroom mixture on top, then place the meat on it.
6. Roll up the meat as if you were rolling sushi, so it is nicely covered with ham on all sides. Then wrap it tightly in the cling film and place it in the fridge again.
7. Tip: You can do this step a day in advance, which saves you some Christmas stress!
8. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Sprinkle some flour on the work surface and place a stack of puff pastry sheets on it (obviously remove the plastic film between them), then sprinkle the top sheet with flour as well. Now roll over the stack with a rolling pin until you have one beautiful large sheet. Once it has cooled sufficiently, take the meat out of the fridge and neatly wrap it in the puff pastry.
9. Brush the puff pastry with egg yolk and sprinkle with fleur de sel. Decorate it if desired and place it on a rack in the oven. Bake the meat in the oven for 30 minutes, then let it rest for another 10 minutes before slicing it. During the final 10 minutes, make sure everything else is perfectly ready.
10. Finely slice the red cabbage and place it in ice water before frying it. Leave the red cabbage in the ice water for 15 minutes.
11. Cut the romanesco into florets and blanch for 2.5 minutes in generously salted water. Then cool it in ice water.
12. Heat the pan with sunflower oil to 180 degrees to fry the fries a second time. About 3 minutes for the Agria potatoes and 2 minutes for the Vitelotte. Finish the fries with shaved truffle and Parmesan.
13. Put a tablespoon of butter and the olive oil in which the meat was fried into a frying pan. Add the romanesco and red cabbage and fry the vegetables with a pinch of salt, keeping them nice and crispy.
14. If all goes well, everything is now ready to serve. Cut the Beef Wellington into beautiful slices of about 3 cm. Don’t make it too fancy—serve everything on a large board.

Also read:

• Perfect steak for a large group
• Gordon Ramsay’s 10 tips for the best steak
• 9 cooking terms you should know

Recipe: Naresh Ramdjas, image: Jasper de Waal