Herb-roasted sirloin with carrot and horseradish salad

Serves 6-8

Herb-roasted sirloin with carrot and horseradish salad (Jason Lowe)

You can make this dish with sirloin, rib or even fillet. The sweetness of the carrots with the horseradish goes perfectly with the beef and if you are not able to get hold of fresh horseradish then you can get away with the stuff in a jar – though not the creamed variety.

A piece of sirloin weighing about a kilo
2tbsp chopped thyme
2tbsp chopped rosemary leaves
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the carrot salad

350-400g carrots, peeled, trimmed and cut into ½cm x 5cm batons, or thinly sliced
6 large shallots, peeled, halved and chopped
200ml vegetable or chicken stock
100ml cider vinegar
150ml olive or rapeseed oil
2-3tbsp freshly grated horseradish
2tbsp chopped parsley

Put the shallots, stock and vinegar in a large saucepan and simmer until it has reduced by half, add the carrots, cover with a lid and cook for just 2 minutes, turning them with a spoon a couple of times during cooking. Remove from the heat, drain the liquid into another smaller saucepan and reduce by half.

Transfer the carrots to a bowl. Whisk the oil into the stock and vinegar mixture and stir into the carrots with the parsley and half of the horseradish; season to taste. Cover and leave to infuse.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Season the sirloin well, heat a roasting tray on the stove top with a little oil and brown the beef well on all sides, then scatter over the herbs and rub in the garlic and roast for about 30 minutes for rare and an extra 15 for medium-rare; leave to rest for about 15 minutes.

Give the carrots a final toss together and transfer to a serving dish or bowl and scatter the rest of the horseradish over. Cut the beef into as thin or thick slices as you wish and arrange on a serving dish with the carrots or separately.