Liz McClarnon's simple beef wellington

This is one of Liz’s favourite recipes. She says this was inspired by a dish she cooked for the Masterchef final - which she won - but this version is far less involved. It's achievable for the home cook and it’s quick to prepare. Liz says you can fool your dinner guests into thinking you have been slaving away in the kitchen for hours.

Before she competed on Masterchef, Liz was frightened of using ovens. But thankfully she has now overcome this.

A celebration dish rather than an everyday one, Liz uses fillet steak. It's rich, but every once in a while we all deserve a treat. Liz says you don’t need to stick to the rules when you’re cooking and you should have a little bit of whatever you fancy in what you’re creating. If you want to have white wine with red meat then feel free. There shouldn’t be rules!

Simple Beef Wellington

Serves 2

Preparation: 10 minutes

Cooking: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1 shallot finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
• 125ml port
• 1 beef stock cube
• 150g puff pastry sheets (pre-rolled)
• 25g unsalted butter
• 125g button mushrooms finely sliced
• A  dash of truffle oil (optional)
• 2 x 175g medallions of beef fillet
• Few sprigs thyme and rosemary
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200c, gas mark 6, 400F.Heat
2. 1tbsp of olive oil in a small pan on a medium heat. Add the garlic and shallot then cook for 1-2 minutes until soft and golden. Add the parsley and port and boil until the liquid has reduced by half (this will look a little syrupy).
3. Use a saucer as a guide to cut out two circles of pastry and lay on a non-stick tray. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes.
4. Dissolve the beef stock cube in ½ pint of boiling water.  Add to the pan together with the remaining port. Gently leave to simmer whilst preparing the rest of the dish.
5. Heat the butter in a small frying pan until just melted. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, then cook gently until slightly soft in texture. Once cooked, add a drizzle of truffle or another flavoured oil and keep warm.
6. Place the remaining oil in a heavy ovenproof frying pan or skillet and heat until it’s just about to smoke. Next, add the beef, allowing it to sear for 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then turn the fillet over using a pair of tongs. Sear again for 1-2 minutes and season.  Add the thyme and rosemary and place in the preheated oven for 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes in a warm place.
7. To serve, place the cooked pastry circles on two warm plates. Poke a hole in the centre and fill the pastry with the warm mushroom mixture.  Place the steak on the pastry and pour over the sauce. Serve with seasonal vegetables.

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