Alternative Christmas roast recipes

Roast beef with fragrant crunchy salad

Name: Roast beef with fragrant crunchy salad
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: Vegetable oil for frying, plus an extra splash; 1.2-1.5kg boned and rolled British beef topside/sirloin (we like eversfieldorganic.co.uk or abelandcole.co.uk); 5cm piece fresh ginger, grated; 2 tbsp brown sugar; ½ tbsp English mustard; ½ tbsp fish sauce; 1 tsp pink peppercorns, plus extra crushed to garnish; 100g beansprouts; 200g sugar snap peas, halved lengthways; 150g radishes, sliced; 1 cucumber, deseeded and cut into half moons; 1 red chilli, chopped; Fresh coriander, mint and basil leaves; Finely grated zest and juice 2 limes; 1 tsp fish sauce; 1 tbsp red wine vinegar; 2 tsp toasted sesame oil; Pinch brown sugar; 2 fat garlic cloves, crushed; Digital probe thermometer

Dairy-freeGluten-free

Hands-on20 min

DifficultyEasy

Method

Heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7. Heat a large frying pan with a splash of oil and sear the beef all over. Mix the ginger, sugar, mustard, fish sauce, peppercorns and salt and pepper in a small bowl with a splash of oil.
Transfer the beef to a roasting tin and rub all over with the ginger mixture. Roast for 20 minutes, then turn down the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6 and roast for 35-40 minutes or until a digital probe thermometer pushed into the centre reads 45-50°C for medium rare (cook for longer if you like your meat cooked more). Lift out the beef and rest on a board for 20-30 minutes.
For the salad, soak the beansprouts in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes, then drain and toss in a large bowl with the remaining salad ingredients.
In a separate bowl combine the dressing ingredients, then pour over the salad and toss well. Transfer to a platter, then carve the beef and arrange on the platter. Sprinkle over a few crushed pink peppercorns to serve.