These individual beef encroûtés are a dinner party show stopper!
Ingredients (for 6)
- 1 kilo of trimmed filet of beef
- 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
- 2 egg yolks
- Ready made puff pastry
- 1 kilo of firm white mushrooms
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- Knob of butter
- Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
Start by making your duxcelle, you can do this that day prior. Clean your mushrooms and, if large, break into quarters and place in a food processor – using the pulse button, blitz until you have a very fine dice. Finely dice your onion.
Heat a large knob of butter in a pan, once melted add both the diced mushrooms and onion. Cook on a high heat, stirring nearly constantly, until all of the moisture has been cooked off. Once cooled, place in an airtight container and refrigerate.
Cut the filet of beef into into roughly 2 cm thick slices (you want roughly 120 grams per portion). Place the portions of beef onto a tray lined with kitchen paper and then add another layer of kitchen paper on top – this will absorb any surface moisture. Season both sides with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Heat a large non-stick frying pan with a drizzle of olive oil. Heat until the pan is smoking. Two at a time, add the filets and cook on a high heat to sear the beef – you only need 30 seconds before turning and repeating. Once you turn the filet, brush with the mustard – when you remove the pan, place the side you have already brushed face down on a clean tray, again lined with kitchen paper – then brush the top side with mustard.
Allow to cool completely at room temperature, remove the duxcelle from the fridge.
Roll out your pasty and, using an espresso sized saucer, cut out your discs (you’ll will need two discs per encroûté) You’ll find it helpful to have some squares of baking paper to hand – place half of the discs onto a square of baking paper.
To construct – add a tablespoon of duxcelle in the centre of a disc of pastry (one on a piece of baking paper); add a piece of beef and top with a further tablespoon of duxcelle, gently spread over the surface of the filet. Brush the edge of the pastry with beaten egg yolk.
Pick up a second disc of pastry and gently stretch it, only expanding it slightly by around 1cm. Place this over the filet and mould around; next fold up the edges of the lower disc, turning on the baking paper as you go.
Place the finished encroûté on a silicon lined baking sheet; cover with film and pop in the fridge until you are ready to cook.
Ahead of cooking, heat your oven to 220 degrees. Remove the encroûtés from the fridge and brush each one with the beaten egg yolk. Cook for 12-15 mins for medium-rare.
Remove from the oven and sit for a minute or so before cutting in half with a large sharp knife (or you can keep them whole). We serve with ratatouille and a gratin potato (dauphinois are also delicious).
Bon Appétit