Roast Beef Aboard Ship
A nice one-course roast dinner for two aboard my yacht Harmony.
The flavours work surprisingly well together!
You will need to halve the quantities of the cabbage and the carrot purée recipes below.
Or double the size of your meat. I understand the internet can help you with that ;)
I took inspiration for the carrots from MasterChef competitor Emily Ludolf. And I was thinking of grating some apple into the horseradish cream, though I didn't get around to doing that for this meal. It is a good variation though.
Make the carrot purée and reheat it gently (microwaving is fine) just before dishing up.
Make the gravy while the roast cooks, or start it slightly before. Don't forget to add any juices from the roasting tin after cooking and particularly from the foil after resting. Reheat in the pan and add a splash of port or sherry before serving.
Prepare the cabbage to cook and put in a large pan with a tight-fitting lid.
Roast a small (800g) rolled beef rump joint:
Pour a ladleful of the carrot purée onto each plate, then drag the ladle through it so it looks an excitingly professional smear. Fill the groove with horseradish sauce. Decorate with carrot slices twisted into spirals (perhaps filled with the horseradish sauce). Place a greased metal collar on each plate and pack with taramasalata cabbage (you could even line the collar with carrot slices). Carefully release to leave a neat cabbage cylinder. Puddle the gravy and lay slices of the beef on top. Scatter with a little chopped parsley.
I took inspiration for the carrots from MasterChef competitor Emily Ludolf. And I was thinking of grating some apple into the horseradish cream, though I didn't get around to doing that for this meal. It is a good variation though.
To Cook:
Make the horseradish cream a day ahead
and keep in the fridge for the flavours to develop.Make the carrot purée and reheat it gently (microwaving is fine) just before dishing up.
Make the gravy while the roast cooks, or start it slightly before. Don't forget to add any juices from the roasting tin after cooking and particularly from the foil after resting. Reheat in the pan and add a splash of port or sherry before serving.
Prepare the cabbage to cook and put in a large pan with a tight-fitting lid.
Roast a small (800g) rolled beef rump joint:
- Rub the joint with olive oil, and season generously with salt and black pepper.
- Thinly slice half an onion into rounds and make a small bed in a roasting tin to sit the meat on.
- Cook at 170°C/Gas Mark 4 for around 40 minutes until the joint reaches your preferred temperature - that's a rare 43°C for me.
- Wrap the joint in foil and leave to rest somewhere warm for 15 minutes, turn the oven up as high as it will go.
- Start the cabbage cooking while the meat rests.
- Unwrap the joint, replace it on the onions in the roasting tin, drizzle a little sherry around to prevent too much burning, then roast at maximum temperature for about 5 minutes to develop a nice crust, without over-cooking.
To Serve:
Reheat the carrot purée and the gravy.Pour a ladleful of the carrot purée onto each plate, then drag the ladle through it so it looks an excitingly professional smear. Fill the groove with horseradish sauce. Decorate with carrot slices twisted into spirals (perhaps filled with the horseradish sauce). Place a greased metal collar on each plate and pack with taramasalata cabbage (you could even line the collar with carrot slices). Carefully release to leave a neat cabbage cylinder. Puddle the gravy and lay slices of the beef on top. Scatter with a little chopped parsley.
menu
Main, and indeed Only, Course
Roast Beef Rump
Savoy Cabbage with Taramasalata
Carrot Purée with Lemongrass and Galangal
Onion and Mushroom Gravy
Horseradish Cream
Roast Beef Rump
A rare beauty.
Savoy Cabbage with Taramasalata
Surprisingly good!
Carrot Purée with Lemongrass and Galangal
Tangy and aromatic.
Onion and Mushroom Gravy
Thick and lumpy. But better than that sounds.
Horseradish Cream
Savoy Cabbage and Taramasalata
fish side
A surprisingly good combination.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- small savoy cabbage
- salt & pepper
- glass white wine
- knob butter
- 15g-20g parsley, chopped
- juice ½ lime
- 100g-200g taramasalata, to taste
Thinly slice the cabbage, put in a pot with a generous knob of butter and a glass of white wine. Season with salt & freshly ground pepper and cover.
Steam over a low heat until the cabbage is tender. Stir through the chopped parsley.
Turn off the heat, drizzle with the juice of half a lime, cover and leave to infuse.
To serve - stir through a few tablespoons of taramasalata (to taste) and check the seasoning.
To serve - stir through a few tablespoons of taramasalata (to taste) and check the seasoning.
Goes well with a roast joint.
And even tastes great without the taramasalata.
You know, if you're fish-roe-phobic.
Thick Onion and Mushroom Gravy
meat sauce
You could make it with vegetable stock, in which case it would be vegetarian.
But honestly, beef stock is the way to go.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- butter
- olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
- 4 button mushrooms, chopped
- white wine
- stock
- splash port or sherry
Finely chop the onion and sweat slowly uncovered in a mixture of butter and olive oil, stirring frequently, until they are thoroughly caramalised.
Add the sliced garlic and cook without darkening.
Add the chopped mushrooms and cook until they collapse.
De-glaze with a splash of white wine, then add enough stock to cover. Bring to a simmer then purée half the quantity and return to the pan.
Add more stock if too thick, season, add a splash of sherry or port to finish and serve.
A thick rich gravy, though obviously rather lumpy. Feel free to strain it if that's a problem.
Be sure to add any meat juices if serving with a roast joint.
Be sure to add any meat juices if serving with a roast joint.
Carrot, Lemongrass and Galangal Purée
side veg
A pleasantly aromatic carrot purée originally from teenage MasterChef Emily Ludolf.
I substituted galangal for her ginger, since I thought we might as well go the whole Thai route, having started.
Also, as far as I can tell, there's no particular difference between a 50/50 mix of double cream and milk, and single cream.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 400g/14oz carrots (about 2), peeled, finely sliced
- 100ml/3½fl oz double cream
- 100ml/3½fl oz milk
- 25g/1oz unsalted butter
- 2 lemongrass stalks, finely grated
- 1 small piece fresh galangal root or ginger, finely grated
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Peel and finely slice the carrots.
Use a mandoline to cut a few of slices the complete length from the middle of the carrots if you want to use them for decoration.
Remove any tough or spoiled outer leaves and finely chop or grate the lemongrass. Finely chop or grate the galangal root.
Put the carrot, lemongrass and galangal in a small pan and cover with the double cream and milk. Season and add the knob of butter.
Partly cover the pan and simmer gently until the carrot is soft enough to easily pierce with a knife.
To serve use a ladle to swirl the purée on the plate. Trim the whole slices into long even rectangles and roll them into spirals to decorate, if using.
If you prefer you can add the lemongrass and galangal after cooking for a more raw, fresh, flavour.
Remove the whole slices, if using, season and purée the remainder with a hand blender until smooth.
You can pan-fry the reserved slices in a little butter to colour them first if you like.To serve use a ladle to swirl the purée on the plate. Trim the whole slices into long even rectangles and roll them into spirals to decorate, if using.
Very good. It goes well with a little horseradish sauce -
which you can pipe along the carrot slices before rolling up if you want them to look special.