Beef Wellington

Sommelier Pierre Guignard has opened a gourmet bistro in Paris's 9th arrondissement with Belgian chef David Meert. Good wines and classic dishes, reinvented or not, are on the menu, such as this beef Wellington.

This recipe from David Meert, chef at Restaurant Duvin in Paris9e , is taken from the special issue of Gault&Millau magazine, in which you can discover 109 chefs' recipes. These chefs have opened their establishments in the last 18 months and shared their favorite recipes with us. Discover the ingredients and preparation steps to make it easy.

Serves 8

Preparationtime: 45 min

Cooking time: 50 min

Ingredients for David Meert 's Beef Wellington

For the beef

1 beef tenderloin, 1.5 to 2 kg

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Maldonsalt (flower of salt harvested in Essex) and white pepper

For the mushroom duxelles

500 g button mushrooms

2 shallots, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

50 g butter

1 sprig lemon thyme

2 tbsp. crème fraîche

For the spinach mixture

200 g fresh spinach

Nutmeg

For the assembly

12 to 16 slices Parma ham

500 g puff pastry

1 egg

Fine salt and white pepper

Special equipment

Kitchen thermometer

Steps for David Meert 's Beef Wellington

Beef: Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over high heat. Season the beef tenderloin with salt and pepper.Searfor about2-3minutes oneach side to get a nice golden crust(this willhelp keep the juices in during cooking). Remove from thepanandchill. Once cooled,brushwithDijon mustard.

Mushroom duxelles: Finely chop the mushrooms. Melt the butter in afrying pan, then add the shallots andgarlic.Sautéuntil translucent.Add the choppedmushroomsand thyme, and cook over medium heat for 10 to 15minutes, stirringregularly, until all thewater has evaporatedfrom the mushrooms .Stir in thecrèmefraîche. Season with salt and pepper and chill.

spinach: Sauté the spinach quickly in afrying pan with a little butter untiljust "wilted" (3-4min). Season with a little nutmeg, salt and pepper.Placein a colander in a cool place to let them drain as much as possible.

Assembly: Lay a sheet of cling film on the work surface. Arrange the slices of Parma ham in a rectangle so that they enclose the beef. Spread the mushroom duxelles evenly over thetop, followed by the spinach. Place thecooled beeffilletin the center, then rollit upusing the cling film.Twist theends to tighten. Leave to set in a cool place for ten minutes.

Puff pastry coating: Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface into a sufficiently large rectangle. Remove the cling film from the beef, then placeitin the center of thepuff pastry.Carefully roll up the beefin thepastry , making sure to seal the edges. Trim anyexcesspastryand pinch the edges together with a littlewater. Place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.

Baking: Preheatoven to 220°C. Beat the egg andbrush overthe puffpastryto give it a golden color.Make a few small cuts in the top of thepastry to allow steam toescape during baking. Place in the oven for 25 to 30min for rare to rosydoneness (internal temperature should reach around50°C forrosy beef).