Читать книгу The New English Table: 200 Recipes from the Queen of Thrifty, Inventive Cooking - Rose Prince - Страница 55

Roast Rare Aged Beef Sirloin with a Mustard and Watercress Sauce

Now that the Over-Thirty-Month rule has been lifted, it is possible once again to buy beef from steers that have reached their full maturity. So we now have four-year-old beef and it is unbelievably good, both to cook and in its vintage flavour. I buy four-year-old well-hung Galloway beef from Ben Weatherall, of Blackface (see Buying beef). Its texture and the way it cooks so beautifully, barely losing an ounce as it roasts, is confirmation that growing an animal slowly is the best approach to rearing beef.

When you buy your sirloin, ask the butcher for the ‘cradle’ of detached ribs for it to sit in as it roasts; they can be used to make stock for other dishes.

Serves 6

1.25kg/2¾lb whole piece of rolled sirloin

fennel seeds

6 small sprigs of thyme

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the mustard and watercress sauce:

leaves from 2 bunches of watercress

1 tablespoon English mustard powder

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

4 tablespoons chicken stock

1 shallot, roughly chopped

1 garlic clove, roughly chopped

200ml/7fl oz olive oil

lemon juice

Allow the beef to come to room temperature before you begin roasting. Preheat the oven to 240°C/475°F/Gas Mark 9.

Season the beef all over and put it in a roasting tin. Scatter the fennel seeds and thyme on top. Put in the oven and roast for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to 175°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 and continue roasting for about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and test for doneness. To do this, insert a skewer into the thickest part of the meat, leave it there for 1 minute, then take it out and test the temperature of the skewer by touching it with your finger where it would have been in contact with the centre of the sirloin.

For rare beef, it should be above blood temperature (about 50°C/125°F if you use a meat thermometer) – this is not a dish to eat well done. If the meat is cooked, remove from the oven and leave for a good 20 minutes to rest. If not, return it to the oven for 10 minutes and then test again.

Meanwhile put the watercress, mustard, vinegar, stock, shallot, garlic and oil in a liquidiser and blend until smooth. Taste and add salt if necessary. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and stir well.

Carve the beef in thick slices and serve with the sauce in a bowl on the table so everyone can help themselves. Serve mustard, too – and have a big leafy salad afterwards.

	Kitchen note
The same sauce can be eaten with roast whole fillet or a rolled forerib roast.