It's Thanksgiving. Obviously, as I am in the UK, there is no holiday, but we still find ways to celebrate. Last night, I went to a friend's Thanksgiving potluck and had an almost classic Thanksgiving meal - turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, salad, pumpkin pie...and sushi. A welcome, if new, addition. Today, I celebrated in my own way by making a labor intensive meal: mini beef wellingtons. These aren't very hard to make, except that the pastry bottoms are often soggy. Here's the recipe:
To make 20 2-bite beef wellingtons, you will need:
-100g beef tenderloin cubed into whatever size you prefer
-6 or so mushrooms, diced
-one large onion, chopped
-olive oil
-prosciutto
-puff pastry sheets
Here's what you do:
1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and then brown 2 sides of the beef squares. Don't cook them for too long, just about 3-4 minutes depending on the size - they should still be partly raw
2. Place the browned meat on a plate and put that into the fridge to cool. Saute the mushrooms in the meat pan until they are mostly dry, about 5 mins, then add in the onion and saute it all until its soft. Put the mushroom/onion mix into the fridge to cool as well
3. Role out the pastry sheets and cut into squares. Heat the oven to 400F, or apprx. 200C. Place a small slice of prosciutto on each square on one side, then take the mushroom/onion mix and put a spoonful of onto each prosciutto slice. Top each square with a piece of beef.
4. Once all your squares are filled, pull the side without the mushroom/onion mix and beef on it over the beef and seal the ends tightly, wrapping the pastry over the mixture. Once each bundle is tightly wrapped, place them on a baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes or until lightly brown on top and the meat is cooked.
5. Share and enjoy!
