Wellington Style Veal Filet

Ingredients

• 2 pieces of Quebec Veal filet, 120 g (1/4 lb) each
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Oil or butter in sufficient quantity
• Pieces of Aux Champs d’Élisé torchon-style foie gras (cooked in a cloth) or one slice of duck foie gras for frying and cut in two
• 110 g (4 oz) Paris mushrooms sliced and sautéed in butter or 2 roasted Portobello mushrooms

Cups

• 2 phyllo pastry sheets to prepare the cups
• Butter in sufficient quantity

Sauce

• Finely diced vegetables (onions, celery and carrots cut in small pieces)
• Butter in sufficient quantity
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) red wine (or a shot of brandy, cognac or scotch mixed with a bit of water or apricot juice)
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) prepared concentrated veal stock
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) prepared concentrated demi-glace sauce

Preparation

Phyllo pastry cup – to prepare the night before

1. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F).
2. Take a sheet of phyllo pastry, brush with butter and fold in half. Brush once again with butter and fold in half in order to obtain a rectangle. Cut and remove approximately 5 mm (0.2 in.) of the folded section of the pastry to make individual sheets. Repeat this step with the other phyllo pastry sheet.
3. Take two wide-bottomed glasses, turn them upside down and cover with parchment paper.
4. Place the glasses, still upside down, in a roasting pan and place the pastry sheets on the glasses. Fold the ends of the pastry to form cups.
5. Cook in the oven between 15 and 20 minutes or until the cups are golden. Let cool and set aside.

Sauce and filet

1. Preheat oven between 120°C (250°F) and 175°C (350°F), according to the time you have for cooking the meat.
2. In a pan, on high, heat butter and brown the diced vegetables.
3. When the vegetables are browned, deglaze the pan with red wine, and add veal stock and demi-glace sauce.
4. Bring to a boil and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half.
5. Strain the sauce and keep warm.
6. Season the veal filets to taste.
7. In a frying pan, on high, heat butter or oil.
8. When the butter is no longer sizzling or when the oil begins to separate, brown the filets on both sides.
9. Remove the meat from the frying pan and place on a grill in a roasting pan.
10. Finish cooking in the oven until internal temperature reaches 64°C (147°F). At this stage, the slower the cooking, the tenderer the meat will be. The piece of meat will begin to shrink in volume and the meat juices will appear on the surface.
11. Remove the filets from the oven, cover lightly with aluminium foil and set aside for a few minutes. The heat will spread and the inner temperature of the meat should reach 66°C (150°F).
12. Just before serving, in a very hot (not smoking) non-stick or cast iron skillet, without adding grease, fry the foie gras slice for 30 to 45 seconds on each side. The inside of the foie gras will be hot, but still rare.**
13. On a hot plate, place a phyllo cup and put a veal filet in it. Put the foie gras pieces or the fried foie gras on the meat, place the mushrooms sautéed in butter on the plate and cover with sauce. Serve with Duchess potatoes and seasonal vegetables.

** For those choosing foie gras slices instead of foie gras pieces.