Beef Wellington with Stilton and chestnut duxelles

Start by making the chestnut duxelles. In a large pan over a medium heat add the unsalted butter and sweat down the onion. Add the garlic and bay leaf then cook for a minute or so until fragrant, making sure to avoid burning the garlic. Add the finely chopped mushrooms and chestnuts

Cook down the mushroom base, stirring constantly to make sure all the water evaporates, then season with salt and pepper. Once the mushrooms are golden brown and cooked down, add the parsley, and tarragon. Season to taste again then spoon the mix onto a tray and place in the fridge to cool

Season the beef fillet with salt and pepper, then tie it up with butcher's twine to secure the shape. Rub all over with vegetable oil

Preheat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, then add a dash of oil to the pan. Once the oil reaches smoking point, pan-sear the fillet for two minutes, turning on all sides to brown

Place onto an oven tray lined with baking paper, remove the twine and leave to cool

While the duxelles and beef fillet are cooling, make the Stilton cream. Use a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment to beat together all the Stilton cream ingredients, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Once smooth, transfer to a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle and chill in the fridge 

Preheat the oven to 190°C

To assemble the beef Wellington, roll out 300g of the puff pastry to a 30cm × 30cm square. This will be used for the lattice

Use a lattice cutter, slicing in one movement, to cut out the pastry. Use a paring knife to cut any slices that didn’t quite go through with the cutter, then separate the lattice slightly before transferring to a baking tray lined with baking paper, covering with cling film and chilling in the fridge

Line your work surface with a large piece of cling film. Layer the slices of prosciutto over the cling film in a row, overlapping them to avoid any gaps

Spread the cooled duxelles over the prosciutto, leaving a 3cm gap across all of the borders. Gently press the duxelles onto the prosciutto, then sprinkle over the Stilton 

Spread the mustard all over the beef fillet, then place it onto the edge of the duxelles and use the cling film to tightly wrap the prosciutto around the beef fillet

Holding the cling film at the edges, roll the fillet forwards to tighten the cling film and wrap it into a ballotine. Tie the edges of the ballotine, or use pegs or elastic bands to secure them, then chill the wrapped fillet in the fridge for at least 30 minutes

Set a rack in the lower third of the oven

While the meat is chilling, prepare the port jus. Melt 20g butter over a medium heat, then add the shallots and sweat down, lowering the heat if needed to avoid burning

Once the shallots are translucent add the garlic cloves and cook down for another minute or so. Once fragrant, add the port, turn the heat up and simmer until the port is reduced by half

Add the stock, bay leaf and thyme and simmer for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper then strain through a chinois or fine mesh sieve

Return the jus to the pan and simmer until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat

Line a large baking tray with baking paper and lightly flour the work surface

Roll out the remaining puff pastry until it is 30cm × 30cm

Unwrap the beef fillet from the cling film, then roll up the beef in the pastry lengthwise. At the seam, brush one side of the dough with egg wash and press together to seal tightly. Fold under any excess dough, then tuck the seam underneath the Wellington

Tuck the dough at the ends of the fillet underneath as well, brushing with egg wash as needed to seal, then egg wash the rest of the Wellington

Remove the chilled lattice from the fridge and lift onto the surface of the Wellington. Tuck the pastry underneath the edges, brushing the lattice with egg wash after it is secured on the Wellington. 

Place in the oven with a probe thermometer and leave to cook until the internal temperature has reached 45°C. This should take around 30 minutes 

Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 20 minutes, leaving the probe in during the rest to keep checking the temperature. It should reach 55–57°C (medium-rare) 

While the meat is resting, make the wild mushrooms. Warm the vegetable oil over a medium heat, then add the wild mushrooms. Sauté them for around 10 minutes, turning up the heat as needed and stirring well to help evaporate any of the water released from the mushrooms

Add the picked thyme, then season with salt and pepper and cook until the mushrooms are golden brown

Stir in 100ml of the port jus then remove from the heat once warmed through

Warm the rest of the port jus then remove from the heat and stir through the cubed butter one piece at a time. This is called ‘monté au beurre’ and should give a nice gloss to the jus. Season with salt and pepper to taste

Finally, transfer the Wellington to a chopping board and slice into 3cm pieces. To plate, serve one slice of the Wellington meat side up on the plate. Add a quenelle of the Stilton cream, before spooning some of the jus-glazed mushrooms onto the side. Garnish the mushrooms with some fresh thyme and crumbled Stilton, before spooning over some of the jus