Beef Wellington

1 lb Beef Tenderloin

1 Sheet of Puff Pastry

5 oz Soft Herb Cheese (i.e. Boursin or Alouette)

4 oz Wild Mushroom Blend (if a blend is not available, a mix of Cremini & Shitake mushrooms will also work)

2 oz Shallots (if shallots are not available, onions will work)

1 oz Sour Cream

3 Tbsp Fresh Thyme

3 Tbsp Black Pepper* *Combine the Spices to make a blend

3 Tbsp Garlic Powder*

2 Tbsp Salt*

4 oz Cold Butter

4 oz Prosciutto

Egg Wash (1 Egg Yolk, ¼ tsp of Salt, 1/4c of Water)

1. Begin by pulling your Puff Pastry out and allowing it to thaw. This will ensure that its pliable when it’s time to encrust the beef. Once its partially thawed, spread the Soft Herb Cheese across the center of the pastry, roughly two and a half times the width of the tenderloin* to ensure that the spread is on all sides once the loin is wrapped. Once the cheese has been spread, set the pastry aside and allow it to continue thawing. (TIP... Spreading the herbed cheese while the pastry is partially frozen, will ensure that it doesn’t tear the pastry before it is used for wrapping the beef.) *meaning if the loin is 3 inches in width, spread the cheese so that its 7.5 inches in width.

2. Next, generously season your tenderloin with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder & begin searing it over low heat, until you’ve browned it on all sides.

3. While the beef sears, finely chop the shallots/onions, and mushrooms and sauté them with the butter, black pepper, fresh thyme, and garlic; once they’ve begun to brown, remove them from the heat, add the sour cream and set the mix aside to cool.

3. Continue turning/rotating the steak so that it’s browned on all sides, and once it’d browned, remove it from the heat and allow it to rest. (TIP... Resting allows the juices to settle so that the meat isn’t tough once it’s been cut.)

4. While the beef loin rests, begin layering the prosciutto slices (broadside end over broadside end) so that they are overlapping. Make sure to layer enough prosciutto so that it runs the length of the tenderloin. Season them with the black pepper and garlic powder.

5. Spread the mushrooms mixture over the layered slices of prosciutto and place the seared tenderloin over top of the mushrooms.

6. Fold the prosciutto over the beef so that the ends of the flaps are on top. Continue this process until the loin is completely wrapped.

7. Returning to the puff pastry, spread it out over the cutting board and place the wrapped beef in the center of it with the flap side face down over the herbed cheese. Fold the pastry over the beef and pinch it together so that it binds. Use a fork to poke holes in it to allow juices to drain as it cooks. (TIP...Make sure to leave at least an inch on both sides of the rolled beef and trim the excess.)

8. Tuck the ends/corners under the roll so that the entire loin is encrusted. Cut small slits/incisions into the top of the wrapped loin to allow the steam to escape to avoid the pastry becoming too soggy while cooking.

9. Brush the pastry with the egg wash mixture and place your loin into either a cast iron skillet or onto a cookie sheet with a cooling rack underneath. (TIP... the cooling rack will allow the air to circulate under the loin as it cooks which will ensure that it doesn’t become soggy on the bottom. But if using cast iron, the heat from the skillet should help offset any pooling during cooking.)

10. Bake the encrusted tenderloin for 13 minutes at 450 Degrees/F

and reduce the heat to 400 and allow it to bake for another 12-15 minutes until the color is golden born. (If you desire the beef closer to medium rare, you can increase the cook time from 13 minutes to 17 minutes on 450/F and from 12-15 minutes to 7 minutes at 400/F.)

11. Once the pastry is done, remove it from the oven and allow it to rest.

(TIP... As the beef rests, you can reserve the juices and combine them with a little white wine, sour cream, black pepper, and cold butter and serve it as a sauce with the beef.)

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