Roast Beef Salad with Horseradish Dressing

Roast Beef Salad is undoubtedly a sensible way to use up leftovers from the Sunday roast. But, made with quality beef sirloin, I think it’s so good it’s worth roasting a joint specially to make this satisfying plate. With little salads of roasted carrots, garlicky beans plus crispy kale AND an easy, creamy horseradish dressing, it’s a nod to the traditional roast beef dinner without the heaviness or heat.

While I do occasionally fancy traditional roast beef, Yorkshire pud, roast potatoes and gravy, I have to admit it’s not my favourite meal. Maybe it’s all those boring boiled vegetables that are so often served with it. Or perhaps it’s because making it at home, especially in the Summer, I’m so hot and bothered by the time I sit down to eat that I really don’t fancy it.

That’s where my Roast Beef Salad with Horseradish Dressing comes in.  Jump to Recipe

The Beef

To make the best possible Roast Beef Salad you need some quality beef.

Virtually all the beef I buy is from The Village Butcher Ipstones or Denstone Hall Farm Shop. Like most beef in the UK this is raised largely on grass. So you can forget all those dodgy statistics, based on intensive farming systems widely used in the USA, showing that colossal amounts of water and grain are needed to produce minuscule amounts of beef.

I like my beef rare to medium-rare for Roast Beef Salad and find that sirloin is the best cut for this. It’s tender, but has more fat and therefore more flavour than fillet. It’s not cheap, but we’re talking about a quality product that you’re not going to eat every day.

The cooking of the beef is really simple. All you do is rub it with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper and stick it in the oven at 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.

How long you roast it for will depend on the size of your beef joint and how well done you like it. I give it an initial 10 minutes then around 12 minutes per 450g. So, for the 1.1 kg joint I cooked for this post, that works out at a total time of 40 minutes.

If you prefer medium, then give it 15-20 minutes per 450g. I don’t recommend you cook it more than this, but if you must then I’ve given timings for medium-well done and well done in th detailed recipe at the end of the post.   Jump to Recipe

To get meat that’s lovely to eat, it’s really important to rest the joint after cooking. Wrap it tightly in foil and leave for at least 15 minutes, but twice as long won’t hurt.

The Vegetables

With a traditional roast beef dinner the part I most dislike is, when everything else is ready, hanging around in a hot kitchen waiting for the vegetables to boil.

So, for my Roast Beef Salad I prepare both the cumin-roasted carrots and the garlic scented runner beans before I even start roasting the beef. Once made, they’ll happily sit at room temperature until you’re ready to eat.

For the runner beans, I fry sliced garlic in olive oil until golden brown and then remove it. Once the oil is cold, I use it in a classic vinaigrette to dress the beans along with the reserved garlic and some parsley. This is also lovely with lamb if you replace the parsley with mint.

You can also forget the soggy greens you get with the worst roast dinners. My Roast Beef Salad has very moreish crispy kale.

We grow cavolo nero (also known as Tuscan kale) in our little vegetable plot so this is what I use. Curly kale is fine too, but may not get quite so crispy as it’s thicker.

The roughly torn kale, drizzled with salt and a little olive oil, won’t take long to get crispy in the oven so I make it while the beef is resting. You could make it earlier, but I find it loses some of that delectable crispiness.

To add a little freshness, I like a few of my Homegrown Pea Shoots on the plate too.

The Dressing

Besides quality beef, what really takes this salad to another level is its creamy, tangy drizzle of Horseradish Dressing.

A smear of horseradish is the traditional accompaniment to beef, but I whisk it with mayonnaise and yogurt to add a creamy, piquant edge to the salad. The only other thing it needs is a little grind of black pepper. Then it’s ready to liberally drizzle over the fresh, colourful salad. Easy.

SERVING & LEFTOVERS

In the detailed recipe below, I’ve given amounts for the vegetables which will serve two people. You’ll have lots of beef left over as the joint should serve at least four to six. It makes great sandwiches, or you could just make the Roast Beef Salad all over again the next day!

I put slices of beef on a clingfilm-lined tray and pop them in the freezer. The next day I transfer them to a freezer box so they’re ready to take out, slice by slice, whenever we need them.

Although the ingredent list and instructions look lengthy, don’t be put off. Roast Beef Salad with Horseradish Dressing is really easy and fuss free to make. Other than cooking the beef to your liking, none of the timings are crucial.

So relax, cook at a leisurely pace and enjoy fantastic beef without the heaviness or heat of a traditional roast.

Print

Roast Beef Salad with Horseradish Dressing

Roast Beef Salad with roasted carrots, garlicky beans, crispy kale & creamy horseradish dressing is a lighter alternative to the traditional Sunday roast.

Course Main Course, Salad, Lunch

Cuisine British

Servings 2 see Recipe Notes

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

For the carrots

• 2 large carrots cut into bite size batons
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• salt & pepper to taste
• 0.5 tbsp olive oil

For the beans

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
• 200 g runner beans Stringed & sliced
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 pinch sugar optional
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp parsley finely chopped

For the beef

• 1 - 1.5 kg sirloin of beef roasting joint
• 0.5 tbsp olive oil
• salt & pepper

For the crispy kale

• 4 handfuls cavolo nero or curly kale stripped from the stems & roughly torn
• salt to taste
• 0.5 tbsp olive oil

For the horseradish dressing

• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• 3 tbsp full fat plain yogurt
• 3 tsp creamed horseradish
• black pepper to taste

To serve (optional)

• 2 handfuls pea shoots

Instructions

The carrots

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7

2. Put the prepared carrots in a shallow roasting tray and sprinkle with the cumin and salt.

   Drizzle with the olive oil then mix together with your hands so that the carrots are coated.

3. Put in the hot oven and cook until just cooked and starting to char at the edges (10-15 min).

   Set aside at room temperature.

   Reduce the oven temperature to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 ready to cook the beef.

The beans

1. Put the olive oil and sliced garlic in a small frying pan. Heat gently and cook until the garlic is golden brown. Remove the garlic and set aside. Leave the oil to cool.

2. Cook the sliced beans in boiling water until just tender. Tip into a colander and cool under a running tap. Drain well and transfer to a bowl.

3. Put the red wine vinegar in a small bowl with the sugar if using plus a little salt and pepper.

   When the olive oil you browned the garlic in is cold, whisk it into the vinegar. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more olive oil or vinegar if liked.

4. Pour the dressing over the beans and mix well.

   Just before serving, stir in the reserved garlic slices and the parsley.

The beef

1. If you haven't done so already, preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.

2. Rub the olive oil all over the beef then season well with salt and pepper.

3. Put the beef in the oven and cook for 10 minutes plus:

   10-12 minutes per 450g for medium-rare (recommended)

   15-20 minutes per 450g for medium

   20-25 minutes per 450g for medium-well-done

   25-30 minutes per 450g for well done

   Baste two or three times during the cooking.

4. When the beef is cooked to your liking, remove from the oven and cover tightly with foil.

   Set aside to rest for 15-30 minutes.

   Reduce the oven temperature to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4 ready to cook the kale.

Crispy kale

1. If you haven't done so already, preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.

2. Put the torn kale in a large baking tray.

   Sprinkle with salt, drizzle with the olive oil and mix with your hands to coat the leaves.

3. Place in the oven and bake until crispy (10-20 min), stirring regularly and making sure the kale doesn't burn.

   Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Horseradish dressing

1. Whisk together the mayonnaise, yogurt and horseradish. Season with black pepper.

Serving

1. Slice the beef thinly and lay slices around the edge of each plate.

   Between the slices, put piles of roasted carrots and runner beans.

   Put the crispy kale in the centre of the plate.

   Dress the plate with pea shoots if using.

   Drizzle generously with the horseradish dressing.

Recipe Notes

The amounts given for the vegetables will serve 2 people. You’ll have lots of beef left over as the joint should feed at least four to six. If not eating the remaining beef within 2 days, freeze slices for later use.