Celebrating Great British beef

Beef, leek & swede Cumberland pie

NEW this month on our ‘foodie calendar’ is a Great British Beef Week, which runs from April 23-30. The aim is to celebrate the “iconic” flavours and versatility of British beef and the sustainable practices of beef farmers. 

Thankfully, the National Beef Association website – nationalbeefassociation.com –
has some interesting recipes using every cut of beef imaginable…
so we offer you two of them. 

Cherry, apricot and almond brioche bake
Print


Cherry, apricot and almond brioche bake

Serves

10

People

Ingredients

  • 10 slices brioche loaf (from a 500g pack)

  • 120g apricot jam

  • 175g frozen pitted sweet cherries

  • 4 small, ripe apricots, destoned and chopped into 6-8 chunks

  • 3 eggs

  • 375ml buttermilk

  • 40g butter, melted and cooled slightly

  • 65g golden caster sugar, plus 2 tbsp

  • 2 tsp vanilla paste or extract

  • 1 tsp almond extract

  • 1 tbsp toasted flaked almonds

  • 2 tsp icing sugar

  • Single cream or crème fraîche, to serve (optional)

Method

  • Roughly line a 22cm round, loose-bottomed tin with a large sheet of baking paper that hangs over the sides. Spread the brioche slices with the apricot jam.
  • Arrange enough brioche slices in the tin, jam-side up, to completely cover the base, tearing to fit. Halve the remaining brioche slices diagonally, then arrange in the tin, jam-side down, layering the cherries and apricot chunks among them to fill the tin.
  • Beat the eggs with a fork, then sieve into a mixing bowl. Whisk in the buttermilk, melted butter, 65g sugar, the vanilla paste and almond extract with a small pinch of salt. Pour this custard evenly over the brioche mixture, then leave in a cool place to soak for 1½ hrs.
  • Preheat the oven to gas 2½, 160°C, fan 140°C and scatter the almonds over the soaked brioche. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 40 mins, then scatter over the remaining 2 tbsp caster sugar and bake for 15 mins more until the top is golden and the bake wobbles slightly when the tin is shaken. Leave to cool to room temperature.
  • Transfer the bake to a serving plate and dust with the icing sugar. Serve, cut into wedges, with cream or crème fraîche.
Salad of beef tongue, green vegetables, wild garlic vinaigrette
Print

Salad of beef tongue, green vegetables, wild garlic vinaigrette

Servings

4

servings

Ingredients

  • 320g of finely sliced cooked beef tongue

  • 100g of wild garlic leaves

  • 100g of olive oil

  • 1 bunch of watercress

  • 1 bunch of green asparagus

  • 1 small head of broccoli

  • Juice of 1 lemon 

  • 4 small spring radish

  • 40g parmesan shavings

Directions

  • Prepare the wild garlic puree: Blanche the wild garlic leaves in boiling water and refresh by dipping in cold water. Remove excess water. Mix the olive oil with the wild garlic and pass through a fine sieve. Put aside.
  • Prepare a vinaigrette with the lemon juice, the wild garlic puree and the wild garlic oil.
  • Prepare the vegetables: Using a mandolin or a grater, finely grate the raw broccoli florets into rice-sized pieces. Wash the watercress and remove the excess water. Blanche the green asparagus in salted boiling water for 10 minutes and refresh in iced cold water. Slice each asparagus long ways in four.
  • To finish: Use a plate for each person and spoon some of the wild garlic vinaigrette onto the centre of each plate. Arrange slices of beef tongue on each plate.  Sprinkle the broccoli over the beef. Place the green asparagus in a bowl and toss in a little of the vinaigrette until coated. Arrange nicely on the top of the meat.
    Decorate with some of the watercress and parmesan shavings. Finish by spooning a little more of the vinaigrette.
Get Recipes