Ingredients
3 1/2 lb beef fillet, tied and larded
3/4 lb mushrooms, finely chopped
2 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 lb pate de foie gras *
1 lb puff pastry
1 egg white, beaten
1 egg yolk beaten **
1/2 cup sercial madeira
2 tsp arrowroot ***
1/2 cup beef broth
2 tbsp black truffles ****
1 watercress for garnish
Directions
* At room temperature. ** Beaten in 1 t water. *** Dissolved in 1 T
cold water. **** Finely chopped.
Servings: 8 servings
Beef Wellington - Gourmet Magazine Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Beef; Gourmet; Meat
The History of Recipes
We are able to follow the history of written recipes back into the distant past, in truth as far as the early Egyptians, and maybe further still. However, in the main part, these old recipes were just primitive hieroglyphic recipes for meal preparation.
The truth of the matter is, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to food historians are some tablets in Sumerian which describe the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who tried it feel `wonderful`. As we move on, there are two interesting cookery books dating from the 14th Century ; a book titled `Forme of Cury`, and another named `Curye on Inglish`. Surprisingly, these two books are unconnected to the spicy food that appears on menues today, but instead descriptions of the types of food cooked for the rich people of that time. Later, in the fifteenth century, the Crusaders brought back many new foods, spices and herbs from Arab cuisine, including basil and coriander. These new herbs and spices created a torrent in cookery books, some of which are kept safe in academic collections. During the following few hundred years, the powerful families of Wesstern Europe tried to lay on the most exotic banquets, and because of this the best cooks and their recipe collections could command a high salary. Nevertheless, it was during the nineteenth century the formal cooking and recipe publications became popular. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the US, dedicated the best years of their lives to collecting, testing, and recording the recipes that were being prepared for the better households. The arrival of television brought us celebrity chefs and the accompanying recipe books. Which brings us neatly to the present day and the invention of computers and the internet, allowing everyone to search through massive numbers of recipes such as those found on this web site. |
We hope you enjoy this Beef Wellington Gourmet Magazine recipe.
