This recipe is named after the 1st Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. Wellington did not create the recipe but it was said that its appearance reminded people of the leather ‘Wellington’ boot, worn by the duke.

Preparation time – 30 minutes
Cooking time – 1 hour 10 minutes
Calories per portion – 510 Kcal
Fat per portion – 30g Of which saturated – 10.2g
Serves – 8

Fillet of beef 1.4kg (3lb)
Freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil 1 tbsp
Butter 25g (1oz)
Button mushrooms 225g (8oz), sliced
Smooth liver pâté 110g (4oz)
Ready-to-roll puff pastry 375g pack
Egg 1, beaten

1 Season the beef fillet with pepper. Heat the oil and 15g (1⁄2oz) of the butter in a large frying pan. Add the meat and fry for around 5 minutes on each side. Press down with a wooden spoon while frying to seal well.

2 Wrap the fillet in cling film and place into a small loaf tin, so that the meat ‘sets’ into a good shape. Cool and then chill.

3 Meanwhile, add the remaining butter to the frying pan and sauté the mushrooms in the pan juices. Leave to cool and then blend with the pâté.

4 Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7. On a lightly floured surface, unroll the pastry. Roll it out a little larger, if required. Spread the pâté mixture in a strip down the pasty and then place the beef on the pâté, near one short end.

5 Fold the pastry edges over the beef like wrapping a parcel, sticking edges together with egg and trimming away the bulky pieces of pastry from the ends where the pastry becomes a double thickness. Turn over the wrapped beef and put the joins underneath.

6 Brush all over with egg. Then roll out the trimmings and create pastry leaves with which to decorate the top. Brush with egg.

7 Place on a baking tray and bake for 50–60 minutes, depending on your preference, covering with foil after 25 minutes. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with baby carrots with their green tops left on.

Cook’s tip
If you do not have a great deal of time to create this dish, you can cook the meat and mushrooms the day before, cool and chill overnight in the fridge.

Recipe taken from Around Britain, Dairy Cookbook.