Beef Wellington w/ Red Wine Demi Glace, Creamed Spinach and Roasted Potatoes

Nothing brings the family together like the holiday season….except in the middle of a global pandemic. But just because COVID is keeping you away from your family, that doesn’t mean you can’t treat yourself and your household to an incredible meal. Ham and turkey are old and played out. If you really want to impress, then this beautiful beef wellington is a treat for those you love.

 
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Red Wine Demi Glace

Ingredients:

  • 1 - 750ML BOTTLE OF RED WINE (CABERNET SAUVIGNON IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED)

  • 1 - 6OZ CAN OF TOMATO PASTE

  • 2 - 48OZ BOXES OF NO-SALT-ADDED BEEF BROTH

  • 1 BUNCH OF THYME

  • 1 BAY LEAF

Instructions:

  1. In a sauce pot, add all your vegetables and sauté. After about 3 minutes throw in the thyme.

  2. ONCE THE VEGETABLES ARE COOKED THROUGH, ADD THE CAN OF TOMATO PASTE AND COOK. CONTINUOUSLY STIR AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POT TO MAKE SURE NONE OF IT STICKS AND BURNS.

  3. COOK OUT THE TOMATO PASTE FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES AND THEN POUR THE ENTIRE BOTTLE OF WINE INTO THE POT.

  4. REDUCE THE RED WINE BY HALF. CONSISTENCY SHOULD BE NICE AND THICK.

  5. ADD YOUR BEEF STOCK AND BAY LEAF AND COOK DOWN ON A SIMMER FOR 30-45 minutes or until the demi glace coats the back of your spoon.

Creamed Spinach

Ingredients:

  • ¼ lb butter

  • 3 TBSP olive oil

  • ½ cup all purpose flour

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • ½ onion, diced small

  • 1 QT Half & Half

  • ½ cup grated parmesan

  • ½ sour cream

  • 2 TBSP lemon juice

  • 3 dashes of tabasco

  • 1 ½ lbs frozen spinach (thawed and drained to remove as much excess water as possible)

Instructions:

  1. In a sauce pan, melt butter and add olive oil, onion, and garlic. Sautee on low heat until onions are translucent. Be careful not to get any color on the onions or garlic

  2. Add the flour while slowly whisking to form a roux and cook on low heat for 10 - 15 minutes until it becomes “blonde”

  3. Whisk in the Half & Half and cook on low heat stirring frequently. Once mixture begins to thicken, add lemon juice and tabasco and season to taste with kosher salt and ground white pepper (white pepper will ensure the béchamel is a purely white as possible)

  4. Turn off the heat and mix in sour cream and parmesan cheese

  5. Fold in your thawed and drained spinach

Herbed Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients:

  • 3 lbs red skin potatoes

  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil

  • ¼ sliced green onions

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 2 sprigs of thyme, chopped

  • 2 sprigs of rosemary, picked and chopped

Instructions:

  1. Place potatoes in a pot with cold salted water and bring up to a boil until you can stick a fork into them

  2. Dunk potatoes in ice water and peel off the skin. Skin should come off easily

  3. Toss potatoes in olive oil, green onions, minced garlic, lemon juice, thyme, and rosemary. Season with kosher salt and black pepper

  4. Preheat oven to 425ºF and place about half an inch of oil into a pan and place pan into the oven once hot

  5. Once oil is hot, place the potatoes gently into the pan and cook in oven.

  6. After 20 minutes, pull out the potatoes and turn them with tongs before retuning them to the oven for another 15 minutes.

  7. Pull from oven and season to taste

Mushroom Duxelles

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb white button mushrooms

  • 1 shallot, sliced

  • 1 clove garlic, sliced

  • 1 TBSP salt

  • 1 tsp black pepper

  • 3 sprigs of thyme, picked

Instructions:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the mixture gets the consistency of a grainy paste

  2. In a hot, dry pan, cook the mushroom duxelles to cook out excess water which helps dry out the mushrooms and intensify the flavor

  3. Once all the water has been fried off, set aside to cool

Beef Wellington Assembly

Ingredients:

  • One sheet puff pastry (you can make your own but it’s honestly not worth the hassle. Just buy it premade)

  • 1 ½ lbs beef tenderloin

  • Dijon mustard

  • 8 slices of Prosciutto di Parma

  • 2 egg yolks

Instructions:

  1. Lay out a piece of plastic wrap on a table and shingle the prosciutto in a 4x2 configuration, creating a rectangle big enough to wrap around the entire tenderloin.

  2. Season your tenderloin heavily with salt and pepper. Get a pan with olive oil nice and hot and sear the tenderloin on all sides, even the ends.
    Note that you are just trying to sear the meat, so cook only long enough to get good color.

  3. While the tenderloin is still hot, brush it on all sides with dijon mustard (smooth or whole grain work just fine)

  4. With a rubber spatula, spread the duxelles on the prosciutto to create a thin layer.

  5. Place your seared tenderloin in the middle and roll up the duxelles covered prosciutto using the plastic wrap to tie it up nice and tight. Tuck in the ends of the prosciutto as you roll to completely encompass the beef. Roll it up tightly in plastic wrap and twist the ends to seal it completely and hold it in a nice log shape. Set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to ensure it maintains its shape.

  6. Preheat your oven to 425ºF

  7. Roll out your puff pastry to ¼-inch thickness and place over another sheet of plastic

  8. Remove plastic from beef wrapped prosciutto and set the in the center of the pastry. Like you did with the prosciutto, use the plastic wrap to roll up the puff pastry. Roll the ends to fully encase the beef

  9. Score the puff pastry to give it a nice design of your choice and brush with egg yolk

  10. Sprinkle coarse sea salt over the assembled wellington and place it seam side down on a greased baking sheet

  11. Place into oven and bake for 35-40 minutes

  12. Pull wellington from the oven and allow to rest for about ten minutes before slicing

  13. ENJOY!

Luis Fayad