After the
long power cut we had at the weekend, caused by the fierce gales which hit us
on Saturday night, when we dared not open our freezer, Lynne went in to see
what she could make for supper and found a small piece of beef fillet - and a sheet of
Woolworths Puff pastry. And some chicken liver pâté she’d made at Christmas. So combine those three pantry ingredients and
you get a classic Beef en Croute for 2. We made it to celebrate the end of the
wind. It is not difficult to make and actually doesn’t take that long but getting
the timing right is crucial if you need your steak perfectly cooked, medium
rare, à la Gordon Ramsay. She used his times and hope that they will work for
you. She made a large crêpe pancake to enclose the beef in, so that the pastry
would not get soggy from the pâté
Ingredients
1 x 400 g
fillet of beef – salt and freshly ground black pepper – 1 T olive oil – a tub
of good chicken liver pâté – puff pastry in a sheet large enough to
cover the fillet – 1 whipped egg yolk to use as egg wash
Pancakes:
1 cup
all-purpose flour - 2 eggs - ½ cup milk - ½ cup water - ¼ teaspoon salt - 2
tablespoons butter, melted – oil to fry in
Stir the
eggs into the flour and slowly beat the milk and water, avoiding lumps to get a
smooth batter; finally add the salt to the melted butter. Fry in a large flat frying
pan to get large crêpes
Season the
fillet well all over and then, in a hot pan, fry in the olive oil until browned
on all sides. Wrap in cling film tightly to keep the shape regular and refrigerate.
Make one
large thin pancake, large enough to wrap the entire fillet. (You can use the
rest of the mix to make more for yourself to eat with sugar, cinnamon and
lemon).
Remove the
cling film from the fillet and cover it with a layer of pâté. Then wrap it carefully in the pancake, sticking it down with pâté. Make as neat a parcel as you can, trimming off any excess. Make sure
the pâté is completely covered and will not leak
out. Refrigerate, wrapped in cling film.
Defrost the
pastry if using frozen and it is bought (no shame in that!). Roll it out till
it is large enough to completely cover the fillet on all sides, with a turnover
on the bottom. Remove the cling film and cover the fillet with the pastry,
making a neat parcel, and be sure to seal the overlapping ends with egg wash. Turn
your oven on to 220°C.
Egg wash the
pastry all over, lightly score a pattern on the outside (do not cut through the
pastry) and then place in the fridge for 10 minutes. Place it on baking paper
on a baking tray and put into the oven for 20 minutes for medium rare. Use a
meat thermometer or thermal probe to ensure that the internal temperature has
reached 52°C. Stick the probe through the top as
escaping meat juices might spoil the crisp pastry if you go through the sides. When
it has reached 52°C, (and as ovens are different, it might
take a little longer) remove from the oven and rest for 10 minutes before
serving. A good meaty jus or a Madeira sauce is perfect with this. We had it
with creamy mashed potatoes and steamed tenderstem broccoli. And it went so
well with a beautiful Rudera Syrah 2010. No longer available in the shops,
sadly
All content © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus
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