What are they eating in upscale London Restaurants? A baked dish with a much-disputed name.

While exploring the globe for favorite recipes from countries far from our shores (which we can make in our own kitchens), we visit England for a true Beef Wellington; which is a filet steak coated with pate, often fois gras and duxelles, a mix of finely chopped and minced mushrooms, mushroom stems, onions, shallots and herbs sautéed in butter and pasted on the beef.

But how the dish’s name came to be Beef Wellington is unclear. Theories suggest it was named after Arthur Wellesley, the 1^st Duke of Wellington who craved a strange mix of beef, truffles, mushrooms, Madeira wine and pate wrapped in a pastry shell.

Other accounts credit it to a patriotic English chef wanting to give an English name to a variation of the French filet “de bœuf en croûte”, during the Napoleonic Wars.

Yet, the earliest recorded recipe to bear the name Beef Wellington appeared in a 1966 cookbook.

The food critic, Clarissa Dickson Wright, introducing a recipe for Beef Wellington, claimed, "This dish has nothing to do the Duke of Wellington; it was invented for a civic reception in Wellington, New Zealand”.

It becomes even more confusing when many menus use the name "Wellington" to describe other dishes where food is baked in a puff pastry; the most common variations are Sausage Wellington, Lamb Wellington and Salmon Wellington.

At normal British grills, Beef Wellington sells for between $US40 – 45.00, and about $10.00 more at the renowned Savoy Grill.

Beef Wellington

The Ultimate Beef Wellington

Today’s recipe will tie you up for about 2 and 1/2 hours, an hour to shop & prepare, one hour cooking and 30 inactive minutes. Ours yields 6 to 8 servings.

Come back when your done shopping and we’ll get to the fun part, the preparation.

Preparing the Duxelles is our first challenge.

1. To 3 pints (1-1/2 pounds) of white button mushrooms …

a. Add 2 peeled and roughly chopped Shallots, 4 peeled and roughly chopped cloves of Garlic, the leaves only from 2 sprigs of Thyme.

b. Put the full mix in a food processor and finely pulse.

2. In a large sauté pan, add 2 tablespoons of unsalted Butter, 2 tablespoons of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil. Set over medium heat.

3. Add the Shallot & mushroom mixture and sauté for 8 to 10 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with Kosher Salt and Pepper. Set aside to cool.

Preparing the beef:

1. With a basting twine, tie a 3-pound center cut of beef tenderloin Filet Mignon, trimmed in 4 places to hold its cylindrical shape while cooking.

2. Drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Season with Kosher Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper.

a. Lightly coat a hot, heavy skillet with the olive oil. For 2 – minutes, sear the beef thoroughly all over including the ends.

b. After searing remove from heat, cut off twine and lightly smear the beef all over with Dijon Mustard.

3. Set 12 thin slices of Prosciutto on a sheet of plastic wrap about a foot and half long so you can fully wrap and tie the roast on top of your cutting board.

4. Shingle the Prosciutto so it forms a rectangle large enough to enclose the entire filet in it.

5. With a rubber spatula cover beef evenly with a thin layer of Duxelles.

6. Season the surface of the Duxelles with Salt and Pepper and sprinkle with the balance of fresh Thyme leaves.

7. Allow to cool slightly, then roll up in the Duxelles covered Prosciutto using the plastic wrap. Tie it nice and tight, then tuck in the Prosciutto ends to hold it in a nice log shape.

8. Set in refrigerator for 30 minutes to ensure it maintains it’s shape.

9. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

10. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 lb. of puff pastry to about a 1/4- inch thickness. Depending on the size of your pressed sheets you may have to overlap 2 sheets and press them together.

11. Remove beef from refrigerator and cut off plastic. Set the beef in the center of the pastry and fold over the longer sides. Trim ends if necessary then brush beef with 2 large eggs, light beaten. Fold over to completely seal the beef. Top with ½ teaspoon of coarse Sea Salt. Place the beef seam side down on a baking sheet.

12. With a carving knife, make a couple of slits in the top of the pastry - this creates vents for steam to escape when cooking.

13. Bake the tightly covered Beef for 40 to 45 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and beef registers 125 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.

Preparing the Green Peppercorn Sauce:

1. After removing beef from its pan, in the same pan toss 2 tablespoons of the live oil, 2 sliced Shallots, 2 peeled and smashed Garlic cloves, the leaves from 3 sprigs of fresh Thyme. Sauté for 1 to 2 minutes or until Golden, then turn off heat.

2. Add 1 cup of Brandy. Flambe. After flame dies, turn heat back on.

3. Add 1 box of beef stock and reduce by about half.

4. Strain out solids. Add 2 cups cream and 2 tablespoons of grainy mustard. Reduce by half again, then shut off heat and add greens, Add ½ cup drained peppercorns in brine. Drain and preserve brine.

Preparing Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Fresh Herbs & Garlic:

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

2. In a medium bowl, add 2 pints of Fingerling Potatoes, 2 sprigs of fresh Rosemary, 2 to 3 sprigs of fresh Sage, 3 sprigs of fresh Thyme & 6 cloves of unpeeled Garlic.

3. Drizzle with 3 tbsp. of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and season with Salt & Pepper.

4. In oven heat sheet pan till warm then remove.

5. Slightly coat pan with olive oil and pour potatoes into it. Place potatoes in oven, reduce heat to 425 degrees F. Roast for 20 minutes or until crispy on outside and tender on inside.

Preparing Warm Wilted Winter Greens:

1. In large Sauté pan, cook ¼ cup of Honey and ½ cup of BalsamicVinegar together over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes.

2. Toast ½ pint of Walnuts in a small skillet; set aside to cool.

3. Pile 3 bunches of washed, stemmed winter greens like Swiss Chard, Radiccichio and Escarole on a platter. Tear & shred the greens.

4. Stir 1 tablespoon of grainy mustard into Balsamic-Honey dressing. Whisk in about 1 cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil.

5. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with ½ pint of Walnuts, ½ cup of Pomegranate seeds, shavings of Parmesan, and 1 chopped shallot.

6. Pour brine to taste.

Finally… Remove all from the oven and find a comfortable place for you to sit and rest. When you have your breath and a nice swig of red wine, arrange the side dishes on a tray; the minced chives, Green Peppercorn Sauce, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, and Warm Wilted Winter Greens.

Serve dinner …. unless you’ve smartly allowed a restaurant to do all the above for you. Then all you need to do is for you and your better half to stride in to your table at 8, greet your guests and raise your true iced Gin Martini in toast. After chatter and sips, because this is a most expansive and most expensive celebration meal, go full boar.

For wine, you’ll want to choose a fine old world red from the Bordeaux family, or if you prefer softer wines, a Pomerol, St. Emilion, Medoc or Burgandy. If you favor the New Reds, you’ll pick a Cabernet Savignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Shiraz or a French Zinfandel.

If you’ve done your homework, before you get to the restaurant you’ll know the right wine at the right price, because you’ve stopped in and asked your dependable local wine merchant to suggest what his customers are drinking currently and to recommend a reasonably priced choice. This is especially smart if your Bistro doesn’t allow a corkage price, which means that your dinner wine will set you back twice the price in the wine shop.

If it’s you and your wife find lots to talk of, you’ll be at dinner at least 2 hours and you’ll take home more leftovers than you’ll have eaten. If your dinner is with a hungry client or friends, you’ll probably eat every bite-ful, all the accompanying dishes and finished off a least 2 bottles as well.

Dessert. Are you kidding? Yet, if you must, Lemon Italian Water Ices, a frozen Pear or nibble on a couple of pineapple spears. Forbid bringing the pastry cart close to the table.

Here’s how one Beef Wellington devotee describes his meal: "There are few dishes more elegant than Beef Wellington. It looks like a million dollars and tastes like heaven. It's also surprisingly easy to make, albeit time-consuming. It can easily be prepped a day in advance and then slid into the oven for 30 minutes to bake before serving." Enjoy your Beef Wellington. Bon Appetit

Next week, we go from a rich man’s table to a meal for the common man, a dishearten almost every day, in Mexico, Cuba, African and Asian countries. We’re talking Chicken, Rice & Beans. In Cuba and elsewhere, it can be a favored sandwich.