Beef Wellington

1. 1 Put the beef on a board and season all over with salt and pepper.  Melt half the butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. When foaming, put the fillet in the pan and brown all over for 4 – 5 mins, taking care not to burn the butter. Put the beef on a plate and leave to cool. 
2. Melt the remaining butter in a separate pan, add the shallots and cook for 1 minute.  Drain the porcini, reserving the liquor.  Chop the porcini, and then add to the pan with the garlic, the reserved liquor and the flat mushrooms. Increase the heat and cook until the mushrooms are dry in the pan, then season and add the thyme and leave to cool.
3. Put the pate in a bowl and beat until smooth, add the mushroom mixture and stir well until thoroughly combined. Season to taste. Transfer the cold fillet to a board and use a palette knife to spread half the mushroom mixture evenly over one side of the beef. Lay half the Parma ham on cling film, with slices overlapping. Invert the mushroom topped beef on to the ham. Spread the remaining mushroom mixture over the beef, and then wrap the rest of the Parma ham, also overlapping, on top of the mushroom mixture. Wrap in cling film and chill or freeze for 20 minutes. 
4. Pre heat the oven to 220C / 200C fan / gas mark 7. Unwrap the beef, brush with the egg. Roll out the pastry to a large rectangle, measuring 30 x 40 cm. Wrap the beef with the pastry. Tuck the ends under and seal the edges.  Brush with more beaten egg. Decorate the top with pastry roses and brush with the egg to glaze. 
5. Put the wellington in the freezer for 20 mins before baking. Place on a piece of greaseproof paper on a baking sheet and cook for 30 – 40 mins for rare to medium rare, 45 mins for medium. Leave to stand for 10 mins before carving.

TIP: Use blocks of puff pastry that you roll out for a better casing as ready roll can split and is hard to weld if it does