Mini beef Wellington

Method

1. 1
   Generously season the fillet steak with salt and pepper. Heat the butter in a frying pan and brown the fillet steak beautifully all over over a high heat. Remove the meat from the pan and leave it to rest for a moment so the juices can redistribute.
2. 2
   For the duxelles, peel and finely chop the shallots and garlic. Finely chop the chestnut mushrooms, or briefly pulse them in a food processor. Heat butter in a pan and gently fry the shallot, garlic and chestnut mushrooms with a pinch of salt and the thyme leaves. Add our delicious Italian Herb Mix and fry everything until deep brown and all the liquid has evaporated. Deglaze with the red wine and reduce again until the mixture is completely dry. The duxelles really must not be moist any more.
3. 3
   Meanwhile, make the crêpes. In a bowl, mix the eggs with the milk and flour to make a smooth batter without lumps. Heat a little butter in the largest frying pan you have and make two thin crêpes from the batter.
4. 4
   To assemble the Wellington, lay a sheet of cling film over a chopping board. Trim the sides of the crêpes straight (using the width of your Wellington as a guide) to create a neat rectangle. Place a crêpe on the cling film, then lay two slices of Parma ham on top. Spread the duxelles over the ham and smooth it out evenly. Place a piece of fillet steak in the centre and roll everything up tightly using the cling film. Twist the ends of the roll extra tightly and leave this parcel to rest in the fridge for half an hour.
5. 5
   In the meantime, make the red wine sauce. Peel and finely chop the shallot. Peel the garlic cloves. Put the red wine, beef stock, finely chopped shallot, peeled garlic cloves and bay leaves together in a large saucepan. Reduce the mixture until it is about half its original volume. Then remove the garlic cloves and bay leaves. Now add the butter a knob at a time, whisking it into the sauce so that it binds nicely. Turn the heat down low to prevent the sauce from boiling and splitting. Is the sauce not thick enough yet? Make a paste with the cornflour and a little water, add it and whisk well until the sauce reaches the desired thickness.
6. 6
   Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Roll out the puff pastry on your work surface. Remove the cling film from the beef rolls and place one beef parcel in the centre of the puff pastry for each Wellington. You can now trim the puff pastry to fit your Mini Beef Wellington, so it takes a little adjusting. Roll the meat tightly in the puff pastry and use a brush to make a seal with egg yolk (like sealing an envelope).
7. 7
   Press as much air as possible out of the parcel and make sure all the seams are properly sealed. Press the edges together with the tines of a fork. Lightly brush the Wellingtons with some egg yolk. Use the back of a knife to make decorative lines in the puff pastry, but do not cut all the way through.
8. 8
   Place the Wellingtons on a baking tray lined with baking paper and insert a meat thermometer into the thinnest Wellington. Bake the Wellingtons until golden brown, for about 20 minutes. Cook the meat until it reaches a core temperature of 46 degrees. Then leave to rest on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
9. 9
   Serve the Mini Beef Wellington with the red wine sauce and sprinkle with chopped parsley.