Roast fillet of beef with horseradish and mustard cream

Prep time: 20 minutes, plus resting time Cook time: 45 minutes

Serves 8

This is an expensive dish. I don’t buy beef fillet very often, usually only for an important celebratory meal. Guests really appreciate it. You can serve it warm, once you have let the meat rest – it is vital to do this before carving. Be careful about cooking time and temperature. The time might look short but I have made this often and it gives you lovely pink meat.

INGREDIENTS

For the cream

– 200ml double cream – 1½ tbsp grain mustard,

or to taste

– 3 tbsp freshly grated or creamed horseradish (Tracklements do the best), or to taste – splash of white wine

vinegar (optional) – caster sugar, to taste

For the beef

– 1.8kg beef fillet

– 2 tbsp olive oil or

beef dripping – handfuls of watercress and small crimson leaves, such as red chicory, to serve

METHOD

Whip the cream, add the mustard and horseradish then taste. You may want more of either. Add the vinegar and sugar to taste. You might not want the vinegar, but the sugar just softens the heat of the horseradish. You can keep this, covered with cling film, in the fridge for up to 24 hours, but you’ll need to give it a good stir and perhaps loosen it with a splash of milk before serving. It’s better made just a couple of hours in advance, but either way, take it out of the fridge about an hour before you serve; it’s too firm fridge-cold.

Heat the oven to 220C/210C fan/gas mark 7. Season the beef well all over and heat the oil or dripping in a large frying pan. When the fat is smoking, put the beef in and colour the outside really well, turning it over as it browns. Now put it into a roasting tin and cook for 10 minutes. Turn the heat down to 200C/190C fan/gas mark 6, and cook for a further 20 minutes.

Lift the beef out, put it in a dish and cover with foil. Put a few tea towels on top to insulate the meat. Leave to rest for 20 minutes.

Slice the beef. Put it on a warm platter; tuck watercress and crimson leaves around it. Serve with the cream, the potatoes and beetroot on these pages, and a leafy salad, if you wish.