Recipe: Roasted shaved beef flank, horseradish caramel, rainbow carrot salsa by Richard and Oliver Gladwin

Serves 6

 

600g flank of beef (onglet or hanger)

 

100g caster sugar

 

35g butter

 

1 clove garlic, crushed

 

100g peeled, grated horseradish

 

100ml veal stock

 

10ml brandy

 

For the rainbow carrot salsa

 

100g purple carrot

 

100g orange carrot

 

100g white carrot

 

100ml rapeseed oil (or green parsley oil)

 

50g washed rapeseeds (these are not easy to come by so if you can't find them, use toasted black mustard seeds or poppy seeds)

 

25g finely chopped parsley

 

A handful of tarragon leaves, picked

 

For the coriander and thyme salt

 

1tbs coriander seeds, toasted and blitzed

 

1tbs of picked thyme leaves (save the stalks to add to the caramel)

 

1tbs Maldon sea salt

 

For the beef dripping emulsion

 

3 egg yolks

 

20g Dijon mustard

 

15ml sherry vinegar

 

10ml honey

 

100ml oil

 

150ml beef dripping (see method)

 

50ml water

 

15ml apple cider vinegar

 

Set up a charcoal grill well in advance so that the coals are glowing red-hot for searing the beef. (You could also use a very hot grill pan on the stove.)

 

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Trim the beef flank, keeping all the trimmings. Roast the trimmings in the oven for 25 minutes and reserve the drippings for the emulsion. If the flank is too lean, buy drippings from your butcher.

 

Meanwhile, make the coriander and thyme salt by mixing together the coriander, thyme leaves and salt.

 

Season the steak well with the coriander and thyme salt and a kiss of oil. Sear really well on the very hot charcoal grill. Chill as soon as it's off the heat by putting it in the fridge uncovered. This will stop the cooking process.

 

Make the beef dripping emulsion by whizzing together the egg yolks, mustard, vinegar and honey in the small bowl of a food processor, then gradually adding the oil to make a thick mayo. Then add the dripping and water and whizz until thick and smooth. Season to taste and put into a squeezy bottle or a piping bag.

 

Make the horseradish caramel by melting the sugar in a dry pan and cooking it to golden bronze. Remove from the heat and quickly add the butter, then the garlic, thyme stalks and horseradish and stir through. Next add the veal stock, and put the caramel back on a low heat to cook for five minutes to help infuse. Finally, add the brandy and strain the caramel through a fine sieve.

 

Make the carrot salsa by finely slicing the carrots into rounds on a mandolin or with a very sharp knife. Add the oil, vinegar and rapeseeds and finish with the parsley.

 

To serve, shave or very finely slice the beef against the grain of the muscle with the sharpest knife in your kitchen. Cutting against the grain achieves tenderness. Arrange the beef shavings to cover the surface of the plate, drizzle with the caramel and randomly spoon on the carrot salsa. Finish with dollops of dripping emulsion.

 

Garnish with tarragon leaves to give a bit of height to the plate.

 

By Richard and Oliver Gladwin of Rabbit in Chelsea, London, from The Really Quite Good British Cookbook. Photography by Lizzie Mayson