Way back when…
I remember my mother’s dinner parties when I was little – we’d have to go to bed before they started, but we got to greet the guests and help in the kitchen beforehand. I was enchanted by the melon balls over ice in pretty cut-glass bowls specially bought for the dish, fridge tart cheesecake carefully folded into a pyramid, and, of course, Beef Wellington (we were allowed the leftovers next day)! I can’t remember my mother making a proper duxelles though, I rather think she chopped up a tin of buttons! Well if you hadn’t already guessed, it was the 70s and the tin was still king! With time, though, I’ve come to appreciate a proper duxelles – it’s a paste of mushrooms and onion/shallots slow cooked in butter, olive oil, garlic and herbs. This is used to encase the browned beef fillet on a layer of Parma ham or bacon to keep the pastry from getting soggy – and adding big flavour to the dish, too. To this day I unashamedly admit that I love chilled melon balls and Beef Wellington, but have found all sorts of additional uses for duxelles: spoonfuls in puff pastry for a quick plate of canapés, as a stuffing for chicken breasts and thick pork chops, even to flavour gravies. And it freezes well. Enough reminiscing! But if you haven’t thought about Beef Wellington for years, and suddenly have a yen for it, here’s Tyler Florence’s Ultimate Beef Wellington recipe: https://bit.ly/1ngCqaj.