Individual Beef Wellington

If you are looking for dinner ideas for Valentine's Day, look no further. These Individual Beef Wellington are so special and so good, you will be making them over and over again due to popular demand. My family expects them every Christmas Eve as well. I once heard about a chicken soup recipe that is supposed to guarantee a girl a marriage proposal. Nonsense. No soup will do that... but these mini beef wellingtons will! Yes, they are that spectacular.




You can also make these wellingtons with lobster, and sometimes I make a combination of the two if I have a crowd to feed (for lobster, just pre-bake lobster tails brushed with some melted butter the same way you do with the filets in part 1, then remove the lobster meat and follow the recipe in the same manner).

Don't let the three parts of this recipe intimidate you. There is very little labor involved in this recipe. I've broken it up so you can get part 1 and 2 of the recipe out of the way in the morning to make things easier, especially if you are making other side dishes. Part 3 is simple... just brush them quickly with egg wash and pop them in the oven before serving.

I like to serve these individual beef wellingtons with roasted root vegetables (a mixture of beets, turnips, parsnips, carrots etc...) and butternut squash for sweetness. Cut vegetables into squares, about 1/2 inch thick. Coat with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in a 425 degree oven until browned and crispy, at least 45 minutes to an hour. They are also great served with sautéed french string beans with slivered almonds. 

**The meat generally comes out slightly pink in the middle, or medium-well  but everyone always seems to be very happy with the doneness of the meat, from those who like it rare to those who prefer well done. If you definitely want it rare though, only bake it initially for 10 minutes.

Individual Beef Wellington

4 1 1/2"-thick filet mignons
1 small shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
8 medium sized mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 14 -17 ounce package puff pastry, thawed (I prefer the award winning puff pastry, Dufour)
1 egg

Part 1

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Salt and pepper filet mignons on both sides and roast in a baking pan for 12 minutes (they will cook more later). Remove pan and turn off oven. Allow filets to cool.

Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a pan and heat over medium heat. Sauté shallots until translucent, then add garlic and mushrooms and cook until tender. Season with salt and pepper.

Refrigerate filets and mushroom mixture in separate bowls in the refrigerator until cold, about an hour.

Part 2

Roll out puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. You want to make sure it is big enough to get 4 6"-inch squares from it. Cut the puff pastry into 4 6"-inch squares with a pizza cutter (alternatively, you can cut it into 4 squares and then roll out each square individually. This is useful if you have small counters to work on).

Bring out the filets and mushroom mixture from the refrigerator.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg.

On each square of puff pastry, lay a tablespoon of the mushroom mixture in the center. Then lay one filet on each pile of mushroom mixture.

Lift one corner of the pastry over the center of the filet. With a pastry brush, brush a small amount of egg wash on top of the corner and then bring the opposite corner up and over so that it lays over the egg washed corner (the egg wash is acting as a glue). Do the same for the other two corners, and using your hands press the seams down to ensure that the package is closed and secure (You don't want the juices spilling out as it cooks) and the pastry is snug around the filet.

Lay the beef wellingtons seam side down on a shallow non-stick baking pan or a parchment-lined regular baking pan at least 3 inches apart. Allow to cool in the refrigerator for an hour or more. Keep the egg wash chilled as well.

Part 3

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Brush the tops of the beef wellingtons with the egg wash and bake for about 20 minutes, or until puff pastry is golden brown and crispy.