These Wellingtons are made from ostrich steaks enveloped in a layer of spinach and wild mushroom, then baked in a pastry crust. It takes some careful assembly but is well worth it.
TO DRINK: Nicholas Charles Krone MCC – Marque 1 Prestige Cuvée
Ostrich Wellingtons with beetroot and redcurrant chutney
Ingredients
- CHUTNEY
- 200g fresh beetroot, grated
- 80g sugar
- 100ml good white wine vinegar
- 1 small jar redcurrant jelly
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 100g butter
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 250g mixed wild mushrooms, roughly diced
- 250g Portabellini mushrooms, roughly diced
- 20ml (4 tsp) truffle oil
- 100ml Parmesan, freshly grated
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 ostrich steaks
- 1 packet baby spinach, lightly blanched and drained
- 2 x 400g rolls ready-made puff pastry
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Instructions
To make the chutney, combine all the ingredients in a pot and boil on a low heat until the mixture has a thick, syrupy consistency. Set aside until needed.
Melt 50g of the butter in a pan and fry the onions and garlic until soft and a little golden. Add the mushrooms and cook over a low heat until the mixture resembles a dry, thick paste, about 20 – 30 minutes. Stir in the truffle oil and Parmesan.
Season the ostrich well and brown on all sides in a hot pan. Do not brown it for long if you want it to be mediumrare, otherwise cook it for a bit longer. Once the meat is brown all over, remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Lay out 4 pieces of paper towel and arrange a single layer of spinach leaves on each, forming a rectangle big enough to wrap around each steak. Press a few tablespoons of the mushroom mixture
onto the spinach to form a mat. Place an ostrich steak on each mat and roll the steak so that it is neatly wrapped in the mushroom and spinach – the spinach should come away from the paper towel easily.
Roll out the pastry on a floured surface and cut it into 4 strips big enough to wrap the meat in. Place each spinach-wrapped steak on a pastry strip and roll the pastry all the way around to enclose the steak. Trim the edges and then tuck and fold them neatly into the parcel, using a little of the beaten egg to seal and secure the folds. Decorate as desired with the pastry off-cuts.
Brush the Wellingtons all over with the remaining egg and bake until puffed and golden, about 20 – 30 minutes. Serve with steamed greens and a good dollop of the chutney.
