Happy St. George's Day! Celebrate with a traditional receipe of Beef Wellington

Celebrate St. George's Day with a good old fashioned British recipe. Beef Wellington is a succulent and hearty main course meal, great for dinner parties and quiet nights in.

Serves: 2
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Oven Temperature: 250° c  -  480° f

[Related feature: Nigel Slater's classic sausage and mash recipe]

Ingredients:

• 600-800g or 1 lb 5oz - 1 lb 12oz beef fillet

• 300 - 400g or 11 - 14oz puff pastry

• 75g/3oz butter

• 4 tbsp vegtable oil

• 1 beaten egg

• salt and pepper

• 50g/2oz plain flour

• 250g/90z chopped mushrooms

• 1 small onion, chopped

• 1 clove garlic, chopped

• 1 tsp sage

• 1 tsp thyme

• 25g/1oz breadcrumbs

• 1 large chicken breast

Step 1: Trim and season fillet

Trim the fillet of excess fat and cut it to size, then season with salt and pepper.

Step 2: Sear the meat

Brown it well on all sides for about 5 minutes in the skillet with oil and butter. When it is done, put it aside to cool down while you prepare the stuffing.

Step 3: Add the mushrooms and garlic

Cook the finely chopped mushrooms until soft but not completely done. Add the onions and garlic and cook for about another five minutes or until done. Finally, sprinkle the herbs over and stir in well. Transfer the mixture to a bowl or tray to cool.

Step 4: Videojug tip

Keep the pastry in the fridge until you need it and make sure the mushrooms and onions are quite cool before you spread them.

Step 5: Prepare the pastry

Sprinkle some flour on a clean, dry surface on which to place the pastry.

Step 6: Finish stuffing mix

Combine the minced chicken and the breadcrumbs with the mushrooms, onions and herbs, (in a blender, preferably), and then spread the mixture evenly on the pastry leaving a 10cm border of pastry clear.

Step 7: Wrap fillet in pastry

Place the fillet on the pastry ready for wrapping – put it in the centre and wrap over the dough to make a neat parcel trimming off any excess.

Step 8: Videojug tip

Carefully remove the grease from the fillet with a cloth before placing it on the pastry.

Step 9: Prepare to bake

Place the wrapped fillet, with the join in the pastry underneath, in a buttered baking tray and brush the beaten egg onto the pastry to give it a nice golden glaze when baked.

It is now ready to bake, but first; leave it in the fridge for half an hour to rest and cool completely.

Step 10: Bake the dish

After half an hour place the baking tray in the centre of an oven pre-heated to 250ºC and bake it for 35 minutes.

Step 11: Videojug tip

Cooking an extra 5 minutes more will make the beef medium and 5 minutes less will leave the beef rare.

Step 12: Carve and serve

This recipe will cook the meat to medium rare. Let it rest for 10 minutes after you take it out of the oven before you cut it. Carve the Beef Wellington into slices 10cms thick and serve 2 slices per person.