Well, after the British summer that never was, I'm delighted to say in a couple of days time I'm off to my second home in Jacarilla Spain.
Upon returning from our last trip, roughly eight weeks ago, where temperatures in Spain had been in the thirties and days were spent cooling off in the sea and dozing in dreamy languor on sunbeds, followed by alfresco dining late into the sultry nights, it was quite a shock to return to such a dire summer here in England.
I always maintain I will carry on posting whilst I'm away, however, I think on this occasion I shall spend every opportunity to sit in the sun, swim, walk and of course eat and drink alfresco, there will be plenty of long wintry days for writing when I return to England in October!
My recipe today is one I cook occasionally whilst I'm away. There has always been a paucity of recipes for beef in Spain, not surprisingly, in a land where summer drought and arid land has made it hard for farmers to raise more than a few heads of cattle. Spain is still the lowest per capita consumer of beef in the EU.
Beef is bought from specialist butchers who concentrate on raising their own stock, consequently, beef is expensive but of the highest quality. As with all meat, Spaniards greatly appreciate it and it is very rare to see any waste. Spanish beef comes in different forms and often the cuts are quite different from what we English are used to. It is not unusual to see slabs of steak, served on the bone and often rather fatty.
Solomillo is a delicious cut of steak which is perfect for my recipe, I would suggest if you are going to treat yourself to this, you go to a butchers and get the best piece of free-range fillet beef he has to offer. This is not an everyday dish but a luxury for a special occasion maybe, and like the Spanish, it is better to eat less meat but when you do, go for the best quality.
Beef Wellington
Recipe
A good fillet of free-range beef 1kg
3 tablespoons olive oil
250g mushrooms, chopped finely to resemble coarse breadcrumbs
12 slices of prosciutto (available in most supermarkets)
50g butter
500g pack of puff pastry
Flour for dusting
2 egg yolks beaten
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven 220c/gas 7
Sit beef in a roasting tray and brush with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, season and roast for 15 minutes
Remove beef from oven and cool for 15 minutes
Heat remaining olive oil and butter in a large pan and fry mushrooms for 10 minutes, remove from pan and set aside
Dust work surface with flour and roll out pastry
Lay 12 slices of prosciutto on the pastry, slightly overlapping
Spread the mushrooms over the prosciutto
Beat egg yolks and brush pastry edges, place fillet on the mushroom/prosciutto and gently roll the pastry to encase fillet
Score pastry and glaze with beaten egg
Place Wellington on a roasting tray and cook in the oven for 20 minutes
Allow to stand for 10 minutes before cutting into thick slices
'Some of the best memories are made in flip flops.'
-Kellie Elmore
Hopefully I'll be in touch whilst in Spain
Love Donna xxxxxx
No comments:
Post a Comment