Ostrich Wellington

Fortunate for us we live within a stones throw of an ostrich farm. Ostrich meat is rich and full of flavour. As a treat my wife bought me a big piece of ostrich fillet thus presenting the opportunity to have a bit of an experiment with something that I had never done before - a wellington.

The cynic in me says that this is just a posh name for a Pastie that restaurants use to bump up the price of a dish - that being said regardless of your views this is tasty and substantial.

Ingredients

A big foot long piece of ostrich fillet
a finely chopped onion
a clove of garlic (finely chopped)
a dozen chestnut mushrooms finely chopped
a tablespoon of tomato puree
half a glass of wine
chopped rosemary
a dozen or so leaves of spinach
ready made puff pastry (one sheet)

Method*

Start by sealing the ostrich in a very hot non stick pan. As there is little or no fat in ostrich meat it may be necessary to rub the meat with a little olive oil first. Set the meat to one side - there is no need for more than a few seconds to seal the meat all around.

Now make a mushroom pate. In the same pan saute the onions, mushrooms and garlic. When soft add the rosemary and tomato puree. Cook out the puree for a minute then add the red wine, season with salt and pepper. Let this reduce down to a thick consistency and set to one side.

Now the layering of the wellington. Roll out the puff pastry (the brand that I use needs to be out of the fridge for half an hour before using)*.

Place a layer of spinach on one half of the pastry, put the osterich fillet on top and then spoon over the mushroom pate trying to keep a consistent thickness over the meat.

Fold over the half of the puff pastry that has not been layered on. Brush the edge of the pastry with some egg wash to make the sealing of the pastry easier. Seal using a basic crimp. Bush with egg wash on the top and place on greaseproof paper.

In a baking tray cook in a pre-heated oven until the pastry is cooked - mine was about 30 mins at 200 degrees.

I served this with crushed potatoes and spinach.