Beef Wellington

Beef wellington

This is not a Maltese dish for sure but I am including it because it is so good and always impresses guests!  This is my version of beef wellington, where I add spinach (which in the usual version is substituted with mushrooms).

Ingredients:

1 whole cut (or two large cuts) of fillet of beef(about 1.5 kg for 5 persons) ; 2 sheets ready rolled puff pastry; 500g steamed fresh spinach; 1 medium onion, chopped; 1 spring onion, chopped; 1 fresh garlic, chopped; 500g of good, lean back bacon.

In a dish put the beef fillet on its own, sprinkle with some worchester sauce;  cook in a hot oven (230 fan electric) for about 15/20 minutes only, till the beef is sealed but still rare on the inside.  In the meantime, cook the chopped onions and garlic in a bit of butter;  add a good grating of nutmeg, season well, add the steamed, chopped spinach; cool.  Cool the beef well after cooking in the oven; reserve any juice for the gravy.

To assemble:  spread the spinach mixture on top of the beef; wrap totally in the bacon slices;  put on top of the opened pastry sheet, wrap up and seal well; brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with some sesame seeds (optional);  bake in a moderate oven for about 20 minutes till the pastry is golden brown.