Beef Wellington

Ingredients

• 1 pound beef tenderloin filet
• Salt and pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pound mushrooms
• 4 thin slices ham or prosciutto
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
• 7 ounces puff pastry
• 2 egg yolks, beaten

Directions

1. Season the fillet well with salt and pepper. Warm 1 tablespoon or 2 of oil in a large pan over high heat, then brown the fillet on every side. For the best crust, resist nudging it around until the side against the pan has had time to color.
2. Take the fillet out of the pan and allow it to cool. When it is no longer hot, coat all sides with the mustard.
3. Chop the mushrooms, add them to a food processor, and process until puréed. Set the sauté pan over medium-high heat, add the mushroom purée, and cook it so the mushrooms give off their liquid. Once that liquid has cooked away, transfer the mushrooms out of the pan and let them cool.
4. Spread out a large piece of plastic wrap. Arrange the ham slices on top, overlapping them, then spread the cooled mushroom mixture over the ham. Set the beef fillet in the center and use the plastic wrap to help roll the ham and mushrooms snugly around it. Wrap the beef into a compact barrel, twist the plastic wrap ends to hold it firmly, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
6. On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry large enough to enclose the beef fillet. Remove the plastic wrap from the fillet and set the beef in the center of the pastry. Brush the pastry edges with the beaten egg yolks.
7. Bring the pastry up and around the fillet, trimming away extra dough at the ends. Try to keep the overlap to a minimum, since pastry thicker than 2 layers may not bake through. Set it on a small plate with the seam underneath, brush the top with beaten egg yolks, and chill for 5-10 minutes.
8. Move the pastry-wrapped fillet to a baking pan. Brush the visible pastry once more with the beaten egg yolks.
9. Using a sharp knife, score the top of the pastry without cutting all the way through. Sprinkle the top with coarse salt.
10. Bake at 400 degrees F for 25-35 minutes, until the pastry is a lovely golden color. For medium rare beef, check the center with an instant-read meat thermometer and remove it at 125-130 degrees F. Let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting into 1-inch thick slices.