Modern European · Main
Steak au Poivre
Salt-baked beetroot wrapped in mushroom duxelles and golden pastry — a vegetarian 'Wellington' with a peppercorn cream
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 80 min
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- Beetroots, medium — 4 (600 g)
- Coarse salt crust: flour 200 g + salt 100 g + water 90 ml
- Chestnut mushrooms — 400 g
- Shallot, brunoise — 60 g
- Butter — 50 g
- Thyme — 4 sprigs
- Puff pastry — 500 g
- Egg wash — 1 yolk + 10 ml cream
- Green peppercorns in brine — 20 g
- Brandy — 20 ml
- Double cream — 150 ml
- Vegetable stock — 100 ml
- Fine salt — 5 g
Method
- Bake beets in the simple salt dough at 180°C for 60 minutes; cool, peel, and trim into neat barrels.
- Blitz mushrooms; cook with shallot, thyme and butter over high heat 10–12 minutes until completely dry. Season and cool.
- Wrap each beet in a 5 mm coat of duxelles, then in 3 mm puff pastry; seal seams underneath.
- Egg-wash twice, score a spiral, and rest 20 minutes at 4°C.
- Bake at 200°C for 22–25 minutes until deep gold.
- Sauce: reduce brandy and stock by half; add cream and crushed green peppercorns, simmer to coating; season.
- Rest 5 minutes; halve one croute per plate and sauce alongside.