Braised Beef Cheek Wellingtons, Mushrooms & Chard

Beef Cheeks

• 3 tbsp olive oil, separated
• 3 lbs beef cheeks, (4 large or 6 small beef cheeks)
• 1 onion (white, brown or yellow), roughly diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 celery stalk, roughly diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 carrot, roughly diced (about ¾ cup)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 stems of fresh thyme or 1½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 4 dried bay leaves (or 3 fresh bay leaves)
• 1 cup beef stock
• 2 cups full bodied red wine (eg. cabernet sauvignon or merlot)
• 3 tsp salt, separated
• Black pepper

Mushrooms

• 2 lbs assorted mushrooms
• 2 tbsp minced shallots
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
• 2 tbsp chopped Italian parsley

Chard

• 2 bunches of Swiss chard

Assembly

• 1 package of puff pastry
• 1 egg beaten with 2 tbsp water
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan

Beef Cheeks

• Preheat oven to 320F.
• Prepare the beef cheeks: cut off any large, fatty membrane. Pat dry then season each side with 1 tsp of salt and a good grind of pepper.
• Heat 2 tbls olive oil in a large casserole dish with a lid over high heat. Sear the beef cheeks on each side until nicely browned. If neccesary, work in batches rather than crowding the pan. Remove beef cheeks and loosely cover with foil to keep warm.
• Turn down the heat to medium high and heat the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add garlic, onion and carrots. Sauté for 3 minutes until onion becomes translucent, then add the celery and sauté for a further 3 minutes.
• Pour the wine into the casserole dish and stir to scrape the brown bits off the bottom. Bring wine to simmer for 1 minute.
• Add remaining ingredients (including 2 tsp salt).
• Cover and cook at 320F for 3 to 3½ hours until the cheeks are very tender. Turn at least once during cooking.
• Open the casserole dish and remove the beef cheeks. Discard the thyme stems and bay leaves.
• Use a handheld stick blender to puree the braising liquid into a smooth Sauce – it will change from a dark brown to a lighter brown color.
• Bring the sauce to simmer over medium heat and simmer until it turns a darker brown color and reduces by about ¼ to ⅓, to a gravy consistency – about 3 to 5 minutes.
• Season to taste.
• Remove from heat, return beef cheeks to the sauce, let cool.

Mushrooms

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Toss the mushrooms and remaining ingredients with 1/8 cup olive oil.
• Spread on cookie sheet, roast for 10 minutes, remove and let cool.

Chard

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Rinse chard and pat dry
• Finely chop the stems and toss in olive oil.
• Rough chop the remaining chard and toss with olive oil.
• Spread both out on a cookie sheet and roast for 12 minutes, remove and let cool.

Assembly

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Roll out pastry on a floured surface, until 1/8 inch thick, and into a 12 x 12 inch square. At the bottom of the square of pastry, make a line of chard about two inches wide, and three inches above pastry edge. Top chard with mushrooms. Top mushrooms with beef cheeks.
• Take the exposed edge of the pastry and lift above the beef cheeks. Carefully roll the pastry into a log- seal by brushing with the beaten egg.
• Set the log onto a baking sheet. Brush liberally with the egg mixture, and generously sprinkle with Parmesan.
• Bake the Wellington in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Remove from over and serve with your favorite horseradish cream.