What to Eat with Beef Wellington – Potatoes and Sauces

How it works

What to eat with beef Wellington? Old cookbooks name a truffle sauce, pickles, tomatoes, lettuce and château potatoes. These 38 ideas start there and add roasted vegetables, greens, a starter, a dessert and drinks.

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What old cookbooks served

Beef Wellington is beef fillet and a mushroom mince called duxelles, wrapped in puff pastry and baked. An Austrian cookbook of 1891 served its fillet in pastry with truffle sauce or pickles. A Polish one of 1910 also names a truffle sauce. A French kitchen reference of 1923 garnished the dish with peeled tomatoes, lettuce and château potatoes.

Rich dish, plain plate

Pastry, beef and mushrooms are rich already. Choose one sauce, one potato and one or two vegetables, at least one of them green. Serve a light starter and a sharp or airy dessert, and let the Wellington be the heavy course.

The Wellington holds the oven until the last minute, so pick sides that finish on the stove or reheat while it rests.
Pass the sauce in a gravy boat. Poured over the slices, it softens the pastry.

Questions and answers

What sides go with beef Wellington?

Mashed potatoes or potato gratin, glazed carrots and long-stem broccoli make the simplest plate. For a holiday table add roasted parsnips, glazed chestnuts and cauliflower cheese.

What sauce goes with beef Wellington?

Truffle sauce is the one the old cookbooks name. Mushroom sauce, peppercorn sauce, béarnaise sauce and beef gravy all suit the fillet, and horseradish cream is the cold choice.

What potatoes go with beef Wellington?

Château potatoes are the old French garnish. Fondant potatoes and duchess potatoes suit a formal table, and mashed potatoes or celery root purée soak up the sauce.

What vegetables go with beef Wellington?

Glazed carrots, roasted parsnips or roasted shallots, and something green: long-stem broccoli, green beans with shallots, creamed spinach or watercress. Roasted tomatoes on the vine and braised lettuce with peas follow the old garnish.

What starter goes with beef Wellington?

Something light, cold or clear: smoked salmon with brown bread, a pear, walnut and blue cheese salad, seared scallops, or a cup of clear beef consommé.

All 38 ideas

Sauces and pickles 7

Béarnaise sauce Buttery and sharp with tarragon. Serve it just warm.
Beef gravy Thin and shiny, made from good stock.
Cornichons A few small sour pickles to cut the richness.
Horseradish cream Cold and hot at once, for those who want sharpness.
Mushroom sauce Creamy, and an echo of the mushrooms under the pastry.
Peppercorn sauce Creamy with a bite. A spoonful beside each slice.
Truffle sauce Dark and glossy. Pass it in a warm gravy boat.

Potatoes 7

Celery root purée Lighter than mash, with a faint celery taste.
Château potatoes Small and golden, set round the slices on the platter.
Duchess potatoes Piped swirls, browned in the oven, for a formal table.
Fondant potatoes Browned on top and soft all through.
Mashed potatoes Smooth and buttery, to catch the sauce.
Potato gratin Thin slices baked in cream. It can wait while the meat rests.
Roasted potatoes Crisp outside and fluffy inside.

Roasted and glazed vegetables 8

Cauliflower cheese Baked under a cheese sauce until it bubbles.
Glazed carrots Shiny with butter, left whole if they are small.
Glazed chestnuts For a winter table, turned in butter until they shine.
Glazed pearl onions Small, sweet and glossy, a spoonful to a plate.
Roasted garlic A whole head, soft enough to spread on the beef.
Roasted parsnips Sweet and sticky at the edges.
Roasted shallots Whole, soft and caramelized.
Roasted tomatoes on the vine Soft, sweet and red beside the brown pastry.

Greens 5

Braised lettuce with peas Small lettuces cooked soft in butter and stock.
Creamed spinach Soft, rich and green in a small dish.
Green beans with shallots Fine beans, kept bright and a little crisp.
Long-stem broccoli Cooked briefly and finished with butter and lemon.
Watercress A plain bunch on the platter, peppery and cold.

A starter 5

Cheese straws Something to nibble while the pastry rests.
Clear beef consommé A small cup of hot broth to open the meal.
Pear, walnut and blue cheese salad Sweet, bitter and salty on a few leaves.
Seared scallops A small plate, cooked at the last minute.
Smoked salmon with brown bread Cold, light and ready before the guests arrive.

To finish 3

Chocolate mousse Small pots, made the day before.
Lemon tart Sharp and cold after a rich main course.
Pavlova with berries Crisp, airy and light.

Drinks 3

Blackcurrant syrup with sparkling water Dark and tart, in a stemmed glass.
Sparkling red grape juice Chilled and poured at the table.
Sparkling water with orange A strip of peel in each glass.