Quick Beef Wellington

The Challenge

Producing the ineffably elegant Beef Wellington, a beef fillet covered with pâté and duxelles and wrapped in pastry.

The Convention

Mixing the dough, cooking every component separately, and baking the layered beast by the books—a time-consuming, costly affair.

The Quickie

Modifying it into a richly stuffed tart, using affordable deli-sliced roast beef, and employing store-bought puff pastry.

HOW THIS QUICKIE WORKS

• Our version of duxelles comes together quickly by finely chopping mushrooms in the food processor, then moving them to a skillet to sauté with a chopped shallot and sherry
• The store-bought puff pastry is topped with a prepared pâté (any type will do), the mushrooms, and, finally, the roast beef
• The top crust is sealed firmly with the tines of a fork, and the pastry is brushed with egg before baking until puffed and golden