YORKSHIRE WAGYU MEDALLIONS WITH OYSTER MUSHROOMS, CELERIAC & FONDANT POTATOES

January is nearly over. You’ve done the cold evenings, the early nights and the sensible choices. If you’re feeling like it’s time for a small but meaningful reward, this is exactly the sort of dish that makes sense. Nothing flashy, nothing forced - just proper cooking and very good beef. And if you’ve been good, you probably deserve it by now.

This recipe centres around our UK-reared Wagyu cross medallions, produced from cattle raised slowly and responsibly, with careful attention paid to welfare, diet and flavour. The result is beef with natural marbling, depth and richness - luxurious without being heavy, and ideal for quick, confident cooking. These medallions are cut for balance: generous enough to feel special, but restrained enough to let the rest of the plate do its job.

Paired with silky celeriac purée, butter-basted fondant potatoes and savoury oyster mushrooms, this is classic, wintery cooking that feels just indulgent enough for this point in the year. It’s also a quietly brilliant dinner party dish - impressive on the plate, straightforward in execution, and calm enough to cook without spending the evening stuck in the kitchen.

A little luxury, well-earned, and best enjoyed while January is finally on its way out.

NB For the record, we haven’t been good at all during January (but you sort of knew that!)

Yorkshire Wagyu Medallions with Oyster Mushrooms, Celeriac & Fondant Potatoes - serves 4

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

For the Yorkshire Wagyu medallions

10 Yorkshire Wagyu medallions (100g each)
75g unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, lightly crushed
2 sprigs thyme
Maldon Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the oyster mushrooms

250g oyster mushrooms, trimmed and torn
10 sprigs tarragon, leaves only
Truffle oil, to finish (optional)

For the fondant potatoes

4 large Desiree potatoes, peeled
60g unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
2 sprigs thyme
100ml chicken stock

For the celeriac

1 large celeriac, peeled and thinly sliced
200ml whole milk
200ml double cream
25g unsalted butter

For the red wine gravy

500ml red wine
200ml chicken stock

Method

Begin by cooking the celeriac. Place the sliced celeriac into a saucepan with the milk and cream, bring to the boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for around 15 minutes until completely soft. Add the butter, allow it to melt, then blend until smooth and pass through a sieve. Season well and keep warm.

Cut the potatoes into neat cylinders. Heat the butter in a saucepan until foaming, add the potatoes along with the garlic and thyme and cook gently, turning until evenly golden on all sides. Pour in the chicken stock, cover and allow the potatoes to cook slowly for around 30 minutes until tender, glossy and infused with the butter and aromatics.

For the jus, pour the red wine into a saucepan and reduce by three quarters. Add the chicken stock and continue reducing by half, seasoning well before stirring in the tomato purée. Keep warm.

Season the Yorkshire Wagyu medallions generously with salt and pepper. Heat a heavy-based pan until very hot, add the olive oil, then sear the medallions in batches if necessary for 2–3 minutes, turning to achieve an even, well-coloured crust. Lower the heat, add a generous knob of butter along with the garlic and thyme, and baste continuously for a further minute. Remove from the pan and allow the meat to rest.

In the same pan, add a little extra butter if needed and sauté the oyster mushrooms until just golden. Add the tarragon, season lightly and remove from the heat.

To serve, spoon the celeriac purée onto warm plates, arrange the Wagyu medallions and fondant potatoes alongside, scatter over the oyster mushrooms and finish with the jus. A light drizzle of truffle oil is optional.