Host of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, Guy Fieri, once said that beef fillet is his least favourite cut of meat, because it lacks flavour.  He has a point. With little fat and no bones, fillet is the vanilla of the beef world. Wrap it in delicious puff pastry though, and it becomes so much more than just a piece of meat.

The reason why I love this recipe is because instead of the usual (faffy) mushroom duxelles that insulates the meat from the pastry, stopping the pastry from becoming soggy, in this version you wrap the beef in steamed spinach. A win for less effort, and a win for an extra serving of vegetables.

Winner winner beef dinner!

EASY BEEF WELLINGTON (PLAASKOS BY ARINA DU PLESSIS)

Serves 6

750 g beef fillet

Olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

30 ml Dijon mustard

8-10 big spinach leaves with the white core removed

500 puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

Rub the fillet with the olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Brown the fillet in a hot pan until evenly brown all over, remove from the pan and leave to cool. Once the fillet has cooled down, spread the mustard in an even layer all over the beef.

Steam the spinach leaves until soft and let it dry and cool on a clean kitchen towel or paper towel to get rid of excess moisture.  Wrap the fillet in the spinach leaves, cover in cling wrap and cool for at least an hour. 

Roll out the pastry on a floured surface.  Remove the fillet from the cling wrap and roll it up in the dough. Seal the edges and remove the excess pieces of dough.  Place the Beef Wellington on a covered baking sheet lightly coated with oil and cool for at least 20 minutes.

In the meantime, heat the oven to 200?C.  Once the Beef Wellington is ready to be baked, brush the beaten egg over the surface and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 180?C and bake for a further 15 minutes.  After baking, let the Beef Wellington rest for at least 10 minutes, cut into slices and serve with mushroom sauce or gravy.

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ooOoo