Beef Wellington

Use an evenly thick 600g piece of tenderloin and pat dry.

Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 0.5 teaspoon black pepper. Heat a pan over medium-high heat and spread 1 teaspoon oil into a thin film.

Sear the sides and both ends for about 1 minute per face until browned, keeping the center undercooked at this stage.

Transfer to a plate and brush with 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard. Once the initial heat has dissipated, refrigerate until cold.

Finely chop 300g mushrooms, 2 shallots, and 2 garlic cloves.

Cook in a dry pan, stirring; as liquid emerges, keep cooking until the mixture is thick and no liquid pools on the pan. Start checking around 10-15 minutes. Spread on a shallow plate, let the initial heat escape, and refrigerate. Allow roughly 30-40 minutes for both mushrooms and beef to become cold.

Overlap 8 prosciutto slices on plastic wrap into a sheet large enough to enclose the beef.

Spread with the cold mushrooms, add the beef, and roll tightly. Use the wrap to hold a firm cylinder and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll 300g thawed but cold puff pastry to about 3mm thick, large enough to enclose the roll.

Remove all plastic wrap from the beef before wrapping in pastry. Leave about 2cm overlap at the seam, trim bulky excess, and seal the ends. Place seam-side down and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Beat the egg, brush it over the pastry, and score the surface lightly. Bake for roughly 30-40 minutes, checking for risen pastry cooked through to the base. Insert a thermometer from the side into the center of the beef and cook to 63°C. Continue baking if needed; loosely shield the top with foil if it browns first. Rest for 10 minutes before slicing.