But whatever the variations, the crucial part is the quality of the beef, how carefully it’s prepared, and the cooking. The best mushroom duxelles can go unnoticed if the beef is tough and overcooked, so don’t skimp on the meat It’s a long old process, but can be a rewarding end result Serve simply with buttered spinach. The pancakes and the mushroom mix can be made in advance.1kg centre-cut, good quality beef fillet, trimmed (without the tail piece or chateaubriand) 250g good quality puff pastry Flour for dusting 2 egg yolks Pancakes as below 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed A good knob of butter 250g wild or button mushrooms or a mixture, trimmed, washed if necessary and finely chopped 2tbsp chopped parsley 1tbsp fresh white breadcrumbs Salt and freshly ground black pepper for the sauce 1 standard 175ml glass of red wine 1 glass of Madeira 750ml gravy as above A good knob of butter for the pancakes (makes 6-8)125ml milk 60g plain flour 1 small egg Halftsp salt Vegetable oil for fryingMake the pancakes. Whisk all the ingredients together with one-third of the milk until smooth.

Gradually whisk in the remaining milk then strain if necessary to remove any lumps. Heat a 16-18cm non-stick frying pan or a good non-stick cast-iron pan, rub with a little vegetable oil then pour in one-sixth of the pancake mix. Tilt the pan immediately so that the mixture spreads evenly and turn the pancake with a spatula or palette knife after 30-40 seconds Make at least six pancakes. Put aside between squares of greaseproof paper.Heat a heavy-bottomed frying pan with a little vegetable oil until it’s almost smoking.

Season the beef fillet with salt and freshly ground black pepper and briefly brown it on all sides in the oil. Set aside to cool.In a saucepan gently cook the onion and garlic in the butter until soft, without colouring. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and continue to cook for about 5 minutes or so until they are soft and all the water, if any, has evaporated. Add the parsley and breadcrumbs, stir well and put to one side to cool.Roll the puff pastry to Halfcm thick on a lightly floured table.

This should be long and wide enough to cover the entire beef fillet once rolled.Lay the pancakes on the table in two rows of three and overlapping each other. Spread the mushroom mixture on the pancakes in a layer about Halfcm thick, then place the beef fillet along the centre and roll up the pancakes, overlapping where the edges meet so that the beef is entirely covered. Fold in the ends flat against the beef to seal.Roll the pancake-covered beef fillet in the puff pastry, brushing a little egg on the edges and the ends to secure it. Place the beef fillet on a baking tray with the join facing down on the tray and push the ends down with your fingers to encase the beef completely. Brush the pastry with the remaining egg yolk and leave to rest for Half an hour in a cool place or in the fridge.Meanwhile pre-heat the oven to 200°C/ gas mark 6. Cook the beef Wellington for 35 minutes for medium rare or a little less for rare.