I made this recipe for Christmas dinner. It received rave reviews. I omitted the pate and in it's place made a pesto of 1/2 cup each tightly packed fresh basil leaves and fresh parsley leaves and 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Combine 3 tablespoons olive oil, basil, parsley, Parmesan cheese and a pinch of salt in a food processor. Process until smooth. Spread this mixure over the beef and top with the onion and mushroom mixture. To Die For!!!
I've made this twice now -- once with a whole tenderloin and this week with individual filets. Personally, I prefer the individual filets, particularly when it's just two of us (makes for more manageable sizes of leftovers). When doing the whole tenderloin, make sure you have a meat thermometer handy -- the baking times listed will get you to a rather red rare tenderloin, which may not be what you'd prefer. I'd also recommend placing the wellington on a rack for baking, to keep the pastry out of the juices. To do individual filets, I skipped the initial browning step, chopped the mushrooms rather than slicing them, skipped the pate (didn't have any on hand), and wrapped each filet separately. We baked it at 400 degrees F for 30-35 minutes, which got the pastry just barely golden and the meat medium rare. But again -- a thermometer is definitely helpful in this recipe!
I fixed this for a dinner party this weekend with individual filets and found it well worth my time, everyone loved them. My only advice is make sure you buy the absolutely best pate you can afford and invest in a good cut of tenderloin; it will really make the difference in the overall quality of the dish. My only other suggestion is use a rack to lift the filets off the bottom of the pan so that pastry doesn't become soggy from the pan juices.
Very easy receipe. Guests loved it. Puff pastery much easier to work with than Phylo. Use plenty of flour when rolling out pastry to make it very thin if desired. Cooking times resulted in the desired medium-rare. This recipe of so easy, even for first-timers, I would recommend using it for individual filets for that VERY impressive fine dining restaurant look. Also recommend placing pastry covered meat on a rack in the baking pan to reduce the mushy bottom of entree due to juices.
I loved this and it came out great but we like steak really rare so what I did was sear two filets in a tablespoon of very hot oil for three minutes on each side then let it cool before wrapping in the pastry. After that I cooked it for 25 minutes as instructed and it came out perfect.
i made this for an anniversary dinner for my parents. Not being much of a cook, even the butcher laughed at me attempting this. I made individual portions. The key to keeping the bottom from getting too soggy is to add a small bit of cold toast that is rounded off with crusts cut off (so as not to tear the pastry. This soaks up any juice keeping the bottom crispy. No one was aware it was there, even after I'd told them. I also seared the meat in a frypan. Wonderful easy recipe that makes anybody look like a real chef!
I have made this several times and I have found use single filets. Much better in the end. I have found most people do not prefer the pate part so I substitute finely ground mushrooms/onions/garlic which works very nice. Also use pastry dough, I couldn't find it either first time. I finally found it in the frozen food isle on the bottom of the cooler in the frozen pie crust area. It will usually be in a long box. Much easier to work with than regular dough.
Absolutely wonderful! I made a suprise dinner for my English boyfriend and he loved it. I did not use pate rather I added more butter mushrooms and garlic. I also used an excellent cut of filet mignon. As mentioned by another cook remember to use a wire rack to keep juices from soaking the bottom of the pastry.
I made this recipe last night for the first time and it was a big hit in my household. I think however I will try it with individual filets the next time the presentation was less than average and it was difficult to serve. I would also recommend browning the meat a little longer. As much as I love my meat medium rare it was very red in the center. This is a keeper and I will be making it again. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
Cooking time is incorrect. I added 20 minutes and it still was bloody rare! Add about 40 minutes to cooking time. The pate' is a must! It was good but not worth the time and effort.
