29 January 2011

Minced Beef Wellington - a Jamie Oliver favourite.

You can see my gravy boat that I got for Christmas!
Is it cute, or what?
It seems like aeons since I last broke out this Jamie Oliver recipe.  (I think it came from his "Ministry of Food" cook book).  I'm not really sure why, because it is absolutely scrumptious and a complete family favourite.  There aren't many recipes that result in clean plates all round - but this one is almost guaranteed, so long as I cook the vegetables right!

I'd love to be able to afford a nice piece of beef with which to make your classic Beef Wellington, but I doubt that's ever going to happen.  As such, this recipe isn't the "poor man's version", because apart from the fact that it's cooked in puff pastry and the end product looks similar, there the similarity ends.  In fact, it's more like a cross between a Cornish Pasty and a Minced Meat Pie, but whatever it is - it's really satisfying to make and to eat.

The vegetables softening.
I usually leave it until a Saturday to make it, because of the time involved in cooking the melange of vegetables and leaving them to cool, before mixing the mince in and getting it in the oven.  It just fits better on a Saturday.

I had a pack of frozen puff pastry sheets in the freezer and this recipe was included as a way of using them up.  I had originally thought I'd make two small Wellingtons, but then when I looked at how tiddly each sheet was, I decided to make one big monster Wellington by joining the two together.  I did so by brushing the pastry with beaten egg and it stuck together perfectly.  As you can see, it only just fitted onto the tray!

With some lovely tasty gravy, green beans, carrots and baby potatoes, it made a great meal.

Jamie Oliver’s MINCED BEEF WELLINGTON (serves 4)

Ingredients :

1 medium onion
1 carrot
1 stick of celery
1 potato
2 cloves of garlic
2 large field mushrooms
olive oil
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
a big handful of frozen peas
1 large egg
500g good quality minced beef
sea salt & black pepper
500g puff pastry

Method :

Peel and chop the onion, carrot, celery and potato into 1cm sized dice and finely chop the garlic.

Clean and roughly chop the mushrooms so they’re about 1cm dice and place all vegetables into a frying pan with olive oil.

Pick the rosemary leaves off the woody stalks, chop and add to the pan with the Worcestershire sauce.  Fry and stir for about 8 mins or until the vegetables soften and colour.
Ready for cooling
 Add frozen peas and cook for another minute, then put vegetables into large bowl to cool completely.

When cool, preheat oven to 180 deg C/Gas 4.  Whisk the egg lightly in a cup.

All combined and ready to go into pastry.
 Add the minced beef to the bowl with salt and pepper and half the egg.  Scrunch together.

Roll out pastry to size of small tea towel and place mince mix along one long side, in a sausage shape.
Well, it LOOKS like a Beef Wellington!
Brush edges of pastry with egg and roll pastry to cover mince completely.  Squeeze ends together.  Put onto baking tray, brush with egg.  Bake for 1hr until golden.

Delicious!

.


5 comments:

  1. sssssh! Don't tell anyone, but l can't stand Jamie Oliver. No way Manuel......!!!!
    Love this though, Beef Wellington, have'nt done it in ages. It's funny, when l'm out for a meal etc.....One thing l never have/order is beef/steak etc. If l decide to have it, l go to the butcher, pick and have the cut l want, take it home and cook it how l like it.
    And, not many places do a good steak for example. But only l do it with beef.
    The dishes look really good Jenny, lovely.....
    AND, that 'Ace' photographer of yours again... :)
    Well, must get on....and yes, l've a few pheasants to do, last day to-day, so the pheasants can start coming out of hiding.....
    poor little things.....As l've said before, l would'nt shoot a thing, well, one or two people maybe! but, bring it to me 'On the Hoof' so to speak.....And away we go....! :0)
    lovely.....Take Care...!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you can't stand Jamie Oliver then easiest thing to do, is don't watch him. I find him easy to watch, piece of cake to follow, and out come is always the way he instructs you.

      Delete
  2. I think you're not alone in your feelings about Mr Oliver, Willie. There are t.v. chefs who leave me cold - Simon Rimmer, for one - but I like Jamie. I think his heart is in the right place and he's doing a lot of good (not just for himself! lol).

    It's one of Son's ambitions in life, to have a steak at a Restaurant. It seems that wherever we go, steak is off the menu - so he's yet to realise that ambition! One day!

    Good luck with your pheasants - what's the next thing to hove into view on the calendar? Fish?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Funny you should mention fish......I had a nice 10lb Pike given to me a couple of weeks ago, ugly so...and...so! So half l froze down as steaks, and the other half, whole, was wrapped in tin foil, with lemon/olive oil/fennel/oregano/ and roasted. Ate it for Sunday lunch, and had the rest cold, with a sea food dressing, (Out of a Jar) in the week.....NOW....THAT'S......Live'in......!
    If someone opened a really good Steak-House around here, they'd make a fortune.
    Little story.....
    Many, many years ago, l went to a steakhouse, in Poole, not there now. I ordered a steak...
    rare....very rare....like mine 30secs each side.
    When it finally arrived, well, l could have 'soled' my shoes with it. So, into the kitchen l went. After a few choice words, l cooked one myself, and the chef....chef...Ha! Just stood there and watched.....!
    Needless to say, l or my lady friend (I do have some you know). Had a free meal, with a bottle of wine.
    Moral of the story....If these places are'nt told, they will never learn...! :0)
    But, good luck to your son, an old boss of mine, many, many years ago, said to me.....If you want to make money....go into food or clothing. Very true to. :)
    Well, l've 5 for lunch to-day, and it's duck.....
    They don't pay.....! I just put it on the 'Bill'
    (joke). Take Care...Think Pink....! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hahahaha! That showed them. Hopefully, things have moved on a bit since then and most restaurants know how to cook a steak. Well, one can but hope! As for you - "put it on the bill", *snort* - what are you like?! LOL

    ReplyDelete

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