|  |  | Ways to beef up the New Year |
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This weeks featureNow that beef is back on the menu, Graham Sherwood suggests some suitable seasonal recipes - and the wines to match
With only three-quarters of the population intending to eat turkey over the New Year celebrations, beef often features as the most preferred alternative. The worrying BSE outbreak now finally seems to be fading from our memories, and the current vogue for low-carbohydrate eating has re-established beef sales, which are back almost to those of its heyday. Improvements to feeding and animal husbandry, together with accurate traceability, has helped to achieve meat quality levels that hark back to that of a generation ago, propelling beef firmly into the spotlight. |
In the spotlight once more... |
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Great with wine... |
So, to help make beef at your New Year festivities really special, we asked several readers - all experienced wine tasters - to match these beef recipes to a selection of readily available wines, all ideally suited for eating and drinking over the holiday period.
The wines were all tasted blind, the only criterion being their suitability to partner any of the enticing recipes. |
| New Years Eve Lunch
Your guests may have driven a long way to celebrate with you. Heres a heart-warming meal to help settle them into the spirit.
Seasonal sirloin with Tabasco marinade, parsnip mash and mustard cobbler
You will need: |
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2 sirloin steaks
2 large potatoes
1 parsnip
1 tbsp snipped chives
For the cobbler
100g (4oz) self-raising flour
25g (1oz) butter
1 tsp mustard powder
milk
salt and black pepper
For the marinade
quarter pint of red wine
half tsp Tabasco (or Worcestershire) sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp grain mustard
salt and pepper
1. Place the marinade ingredients in a bowl, add the steaks, covering them with the mixture, and leave to marinate at room temperature for three to four hours.
2. Place the dry cobbler ingredients in a bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add just enough milk to bind into a soft, but not sticky, dough.
3. Pat out the dough into a 2.5cm (1in) thick piece, and make into cobblers using a scone cutter. Bake on a tray in a hot oven at gas mark 6/400 deg F/200 deg C for about ten minutes, until risen and brown.
4. While the cobblers are baking, peel the potatoes and parsnip and cut into chunks. Boil in salted water until cooked, drain well, return to the pan and mash, adding the chives, seasoning and a generous knob of butter.
5. Heat a heavy griddle pan (or grill, if preferred). Cook the sirloin steaks for five minutes each side, basting each side once with the marinade mixture. Heat a little of the marinade for use as a pour-over sauce.
6. To serve, put a mound of parsnip mash onto each plate and place a steak on top. Position the cobbler to one side and drizzle the sauce around the edge of the plate.
Recommended wine: Fairview Pinotage 2002, Paarl, South Africa
Heavy, solid claret and deep crimson colour. Not overpowering, slightly smoky essence. Hint of vanilla and liquorice on the nose. Great strong fruit, sweet, juicy, concentrated.
An excellent peppered blackberries and currants mouthful. | New Years Day Dinner
A peppercorn-encrusted rib joint can be impressive, with the rich sauce of horseradish and walnut cream, your choice of veg will really come alive.
Green peppered rib of beef served with horseradish and walnut cream |
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You will need:
Large joint of prime beef, ideally on the bone
olive oil
4 tsp green peppercorns
7-8 cloves of unpeeled garlic
100g (4oz) crushed walnuts
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp grated horseradish
2 tsp French mustard
half pint single cream
salt
1. Generously rub the meat with olive oil and press two teaspoons of the peppercorns firmly into the surface of the joint. Leave covered at room temperature for two to three hours.
2. Roast the joint for 15 to 20 minutes per pound at gas mark 6/400 deg F/200 deg C for rare to medium-rare beef. Increase the cooking time for well-done meat, if required.
3. While the meat is cooking, put the garlic cloves into a small, lidded saucepan, cover with water and simmer for approximately 15 minutes, until soft.
4. Either by hand or with a food processor, mix together the garlic, walnuts, vinegar, horseradish, mustard and peppercorns. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and add the cream. Tip the juices from the cooked beef into the pan and heat gently, stirring well, and season.
5. To serve, slice the beef generously and serve the creamy sauce as an accompaniment. A small garnish of watercress is optional, but a perfect finish.
Recommended wine: Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2001, SE Australia
A hint of violets and pine, burnt jam and vanilla on the nose. The fruit goes on and on, blackberries and pepper, smooth, big, fresh and full-bodied. This needs a big dish. | New Years Day the adventurous way
If you want to try something more unusual, this delicious fusion of beef, pierced with smoked oysters, gives a superbly exotic flavour, and is perfectly matched with a cucumber and creme fraiche garnish. The joint is equally good served hot or cold.
Smoked oyster topside with cucumber and almond creme fraiche |
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You will need:
1.5kg (3lb) strung beef topside
1 tin of smoked oysters
large bunch of chopped parsley
2 finely chopped shallots
half a finely chopped cucumber
150ml tub of creme fraiche
2 tbsp lemon juice
quarter tsp cayenne pepper or 2 to 3 drops of Tabasco sauce
flaked almonds
olive oil
salt and black pepper
1. Drain the oysters; mix with the parsley, shallots and plenty of black pepper.
2. Using a sharp knife, make several slits around the surface of the beef, taking care not to cut the strings. Press the oyster mixture into the cavities and rub all over with olive oil and salt.
3. Place the joint in a roasting tin and leave covered at room temperature for three to four hours, then roast at gas mark 7/425 deg F/220 deg C, basting occasionally. Allow 10 to 15 minutes per pound for rare to medium-rare meat, 20 to 30 minutes for well done.
4. Mix the cucumber with the creme fraiche, lemon juice, cayenne or Tabasco and flaked almonds. Season the mixture and store in the refrigerator until youre ready to serve.
Recommended wines: Penfolds thomas Hyland Cabernet Sauvignon 2001, South Australia
Initially closed-up aroma. Intense purple depth, light attractive tannins, sweet fruit, dark, smooth, with a plums and currants finish.
Rosemount Estate Show Reserve Shiraz 2000, McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek, Australia
Everything a wine needs, fruit flavour, length, balance. Superb. |
Out and About
Some of us get out and about for the New Year sales, so the opportunity for some forward preparation is a real bonus. This simple but lavish pie can be made and frozen ahead of your busy schedule. One of our wine tasters, David Barratt, said, Eating this recipe is a fine reason to abandon turkey and move to beef this New Year. Its gorgeous.
Spiced beef pie with mushrooms, chestnuts and juniper berries |
You will need:
1kg (2lbs) good quality cubed braising steak
2 large onions
2 cloves of garlic
25g (1oz) butter
1 tsp (heaped) allspice
1 tsp crushed juniper berries
2 tsp green peppercorns
1 tbsp caster sugar
150ml (quarter pint) red wine
275g (10oz) canned whole chestnuts
150g (6oz) chestnut mushrooms
1 pack of puff pastry
1 beaten egg
salt and black pepper |
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1. Melt the butter in an oven-proof casserole and gently fry the onions and chopped garlic until soft and golden. Transfer to a plate.
2. In small batches, add the cubed beef to the casserole in order to brown all edges well to seal. Put all the meat into the casserole with the softened onions and garlic, and the allspice. Add the crushed juniper berries, green peppercorns, sugar and seasoning, pour the red wine over the mixture and bring to the boil.
3. Cover the casserole and place in the centre of the oven for two hours, until tender, on gas mark 2/300 deg F/150 deg C.
4. Remove from the oven and stir in the whole chestnuts and mushrooms - though if preparing in advance, do not add these until you re-cook. Pour into a pie dish and leave to cool.
5. Roll out the pastry to fit over the top of the pie dish, leaving a small piece for the rim. Moisten the rim of the dish with beaten egg and position the extra strip of pastry. Paint pastry strip with more beaten egg and place the pastry lid over the pie. Crimp edges and trim, make two small holes to alleviate steam, decorate with pastry trimmings. Brush with last of beaten egg and cook in oven on gas mark 7/425 deg F/220 deg C for 20 minutes, reducing temperature to gas mark 4/350 deg F/180 deg C for a further 15 to 20 minutes.
Recommended wine: Rosemount Estate Show Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2000, Coonawarra, Australia.
Fresh, soft, wet pine and currant aroma. Masses of vanilla, oak and berries. Mouth-coating, good grip, chocolate and smooth, ripe juicy finish. Glugable. |
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