Individual Beef Wellington

Preheat a large skillet to medium heat.

Add the mushrooms, onion, and garlic to a food processor and pulse several times until finely chopped.

Add the mushroom mixture to the skillet with the olive oil, herbs de Provence, and a sprinkle of salt. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are dark in color and have released their liquids. Remove the mushroom mixture from the skillet to a plate. Put the skillet back on the heat and turn the heat up to medium-high.

Coat both sides of the steaks with coarse salt and pepper. Add half the butter to the hot skillet. Once melted add the steaks. Sear the steaks on each side for 90 seconds or so, just until a dark crust has formed but the meat is still very raw on the inside.

Remove the steaks to a plate, turn the heat off the pan, and save the pan for later when we make the sauce. Don’t wipe it out.

NOTE: The oven needs to be preheated when you’re ready to cook the Wellingtons. If you prefer, you may wrap the steaks in advance then keep them in the fridge for several hours and preheat the oven right before you’d like to bake the wellingtons.

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. On your work surface, lightly roll out the thawed puff pastry and cut it into 4 even rectangles.

On each rectangle, spoon 1/4 of the mushroom mixture and 1/4 of the Dijon mustard in the center of the pastry. Top the Dijon with one steak, and gently pull up the sides of the pastry to form a package. Place the package seam side down (so the mushrooms are on top) on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the other 3 steaks. Spray the tops of the pastries with cooking spray and sprinkle with a pinch of coarse salt.

Bake the Wellingtons for 20-30 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden.

While the pastries are baking, reheat the steak pan to medium heat. Add the remaining butter and a scant tablespoon of flour. Whisk together for 2 minutes until fully combined. Pour in the wine, and continue whisking to remove steak bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour in the stock, and let the mixture reduce by half to form a thin sauce. Add more stock if the sauce is too thick. It should coat a spoon but not be gelatinous.

When the Wellingtons are cooked, remove the pan from the oven and allow them to rest for a few minutes. Then plate them and slice each one in half, if desired. Spoon some of the sauce over top. Serve simply with green salad and enjoy!