Festive Beef Wellington

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220°C.
2. Place the fillet on a roasting tray, brush with 15 ml olive oil and season with pepper.
3. Roast for 15 mins for medium-rare or 20 mins for medium. Remove from the oven to cool, then chill in the fridge for about 20 mins.
4. While the beef is cooling, place the brown sugar, apples, onion, raisins, herbs and butter in a saucepan.
5. Cook the mixture until it is soft but holds its shape. The mixture should hold its shape when stirred. Squeeze out any extra moisture.
6. Place a piece of cling film over a large chopping board. Lay the slices of bacon on the cling film, slightly overlapping.
7. Spread the fruit mixture over the bacon. Place the fillet on top. Use the cling film’s edges to draw the bacon around the fillet, then roll it into a sausage shape, twisting the ends of the cling film to tighten it as you go. Chill the fillet while you roll out the pastry.
8. Dust your work surface with a little flour. Unroll the puff pastry.
9. Remove the fillet from the cling film and sit it in the centre of the pastry. Wrap the pastry around the fillet.
10. Cut off any excess and use it to decorate. Brush the pastry’s edges with the beaten egg to seal. Glaze all over with more beaten egg.
11. Bake at 200°C until golden and crisp – 20-25 mins for medium-rare beef, 30 mins for medium.
12. Allow to stand for 10 mins before serving in thick slices.