italian suitcase: beef wellington w/ roast potatoes

This decadent british classic was meant to be a show-off by MrM with mum&dad - and a first-time too (when it comes to competing for cooking skills MrM definitely likes a challenge, and brownie points with the parents-in-law are always a plus)... but as their flight got cancelled due to snow, we had to make the effort of eating it (almost) all ourselves.

Serves 4 (or 2 if particularly ravenous, with some leftovers for a Monday homemade lunch in the office)

Ingredients:

for the beef wellington:

550g beef fillet (we were lucky enough to get this form the Hampstead Butcher - fantastic stuff)

250g all-butter puff pastry - you can make this yourself if you feel particularly brave

1 shallot

Butter

300g mixed mushrooms (we used mini-portabella, but you can pick any kind you like, ideally including some porcini)

200ml Port wine

2 tbsp cream

Thyme (preferably fresh)

Salt and pepper

One beaten egg for glazing

EVO oil

for the potatoes:

1kg potatoes of your choice (we used Maris Piper, they were pleasently floury, but next time we'll try a different kind)

Rosemary (preferably fresh - we got some from our patio. It was covered in snow, but still very aromatic)

Quite a bit of EVO oil (you can substitute some or all of this with animal fat, but we tend to prefer olive oil)

Salt

Preparation:

If you're using frozen pastry, make sure it has thawed according to packet instructions

Pre-heat the oven at 180degrees fan.

Start with par-boiling the potatoes. Peel them and cut the big ones in chunks so that they are all of roughly the same size. Put them in a pot, cover with cold water and coarse salt, bring to the boil and cook for up to 10 mins (depending on size)

In the meantime, prepare the mushroom mixture. Finely chop the shallot and place in a pan with the melted butter over a medium heat. Roughly chop the mushrooms and add them to the pan together with the thyme when the shallot has turned golden. Season well and, when the mixture is soft, add 125ml of Port wine, turn the heat up and cook until the alcohol has evaporated. Then put a bit more than half of the mixture in a bowl and mix with the cream. Adjust seasoning.

By this stage the potatoes should be par-boiled. Drain them and let them steam for a minute or two. Then transfer them to a lightly oiled oven tin, top with some more glugs of olive oil, tear in the rosemary and season well. They'll need to cook for about 45 mins but you may need to adjust this according to how big you cut them.

Now you can turn to the main show. Season the beef on a chopping board with thyme, salt, pepper and a bit of oil. Rub the flavours in. Sear briefly the fillet in a hot pan, making sure all of its sides are lightly crusted. Let the fillet rest on the chopping board and put the pan aside - but don't wash it yet!

Roll the pastry to a rectangle big enough to comfortably fit the fillet (you'll need some excess pastry to make sure the beef it's properly sealed). Brush the pastry with the egg, and cover with the creamy mushroom mixture. Place the fillet at one end and gently roll it, tuck in the sides and trim any excess pastry. Carefully place this huge beef-roll on a baking sheet, seam side down. Glaze all over with the egg and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.

Whilst beef and potatoes are cooking, do a bit of washing up - if you are like MrM, the kitchen will already and invariably be a mess and it's far better to do this when you are still sober.

When the beef is almost ready, prepare the mushroom sauce. De-glaze the beef pan with the remaining Port wine, add the rest of the mushroom mixture and reduce slightly.

By now, both the beef wellington and the potatoes should be ready. Let the beef rest on the chopping board for a few minutes before cutting it. You can stare at it in admiration or set up the table - whichever you prefer. Then cut the beef, and serve with the potatoes.

Let a mouthful of tender meat + creamy pastry melt in your mouth and wash with some good red wine. We opted for a bottle of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOP, cantina Miglianico.

No better way to spend a couple of hours on a snowy Sunday!