Comfort Cottage sizzling supper
In the last of Lisa Faulkner's series of comfort food cookery lessons, she's teaching us her recipes for beef wellington and chocolate honeycomb tart - after all, Valentine's Day is the perfect opportunity to go that extra mile and make something really special.
Beef Wellington
Serves: 6Preparation time: 20 minutesCooking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
200g chicken liver pate700g beef fillet400g large sheet of puff pastry1 egg, beatenSalt and freshly ground black pepper
For the mushroom duxelle mix
200g mixed mushrooms50g butter1 onion, diced3 garlic cloves, chopped3 tablespoons freshly chopped sage3 tablespoons freshly chopped thyme
For the pancakes
200g plain flour3 eggs300 ml milk25g butter, for frying
Method
Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas mark 5. Make the mushroom duxelle mix. Put the mixed mushrooms in a food processor or blender and pulse to a rough dice.
Heat the butter in a frying pan and fry the onion and garlic until softened but not coloured. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook, again without colouring, for five minutes. Season, then add the thyme and sage. Leave to cool.
Next, make the pancakes. Mix the ingredients in a jug. Heat the butter in a small frying pan and pour two-thirds of it into a small bowl to keep aside for brushing the pan in between pancakes.
Pour a small amount of the batter into the frying pan and swirl it around to cover the base of the pan. Cook for one to two minutes and then flip and cook for another minute. Remove the pancake from the pan to a plate and continue to cook five more pancakes.
Layer the pancakes with greaseproof paper in between and leave to cool. Season and seal the beef fillet and set aside. Mix the cooled mushroom duxelle with the pate in a mixing bowl. Brush the large sheet of pastry with the egg wash. Layer the pancakes over the top of the pastry so that it is covered and then use a palate knife to spread the mushroom mixture on top.
Place the beef fillet on top of the mushroom mixture and roll up the pastry, making sure that the beef is completely surrounded by the mushroom mix and the pancakes and well sealed. Leave to chill. Place the Wellington on a baking tray and brush the top with beaten egg. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or to your liking.
Chocolate and honeycomb tart
Serves: 10–12Preparation time: 20 minutesCooking time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
Flour, for dusting1 quantity sweet pastry1 egg, beaten390ml double cream25g liquid glucose365g good-quality dark chocolate, cut into small pieces85g unsalted butter, diced75g honeycomb, crushed to a powder
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Remove the pastry dough from the fridge and, leaving it between two pieces of greaseproof paper, roll out a disc to a slightly larger circle than a 20 centimetre tart tin. Use the pastry to line the tin and then bake blind in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes.
Remove the baking beans from the pastry and return the tart to the oven for a further five to 10 minutes. Brush the pastry with beaten egg and dry either at room temperature or in the preheated oven for two minutes. Make sure the tart is properly cooled before adding the filling.
While the tart is cooling, pour the cream and the glucose into a saucepan over a medium heat and bring to a simmer. Pour the cream on to the chocolate pieces in a bowl and whisk together until the chocolate has completely melted. Whisk in the diced butter and then pour the mixture into the prepared pastry case. Transfer to the fridge to chill for at least two hours, preferably overnight. Serve at room temperature topped with the honeycomb powder.
Variation: You could add a dash of cognac to the chocolate mixture to give it a boozy kick