Roast beef fillet with potato and horseradish cake

900g whole fillet of beef, trimmed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 handfuls of fresh rosemary sprigs
1 bulb of garlic, broken up, cloves left whole with skins on
Extra virgin olive oil
2kg firm potatoes, peeled and sliced 0.5cm thick
3 heaped tablespoons creamed horseradish
½ bottle of red wine
170g butter

Generously season the beef fillet with salt and pepper. In a pestle and mortar bash up about a quarter of the rosemary with a clove of garlic to make a paste. Loosen with 5 tablespoons of olive oil and then rub this all over the beef. Tie the beef up with 4 pieces of string then poke the remaining rosemary sprigs under the string. This way the beef is almost protected by the herb during the cooking and it will also give great flavour.

Preheat the oven to 250ºC/450ºF/gas 8. Parboil your sliced potatoes in boiling salted water for around 5 minutes. Drain in a colander, and transfer to a bowl with just enough olive oil to coat them. Season well. I like to make the potato cake in a round greased or non-stick cake tin, but you can use a non-stick frying pan with a metal handle if you have one. Or you can even make small individual ones. Place half the potatoes into the tin or pan, smearing the creamed horseradish over the top. Place the rest of the potatoes on top then pat down and put to one side.

Brown off the beef in a snug-fitting roasting tray until all sides are coloured. Add the garlic cloves to the tray, place the beef on top of them and put in the oven with the potatoes on a shelf below. Cook for 20 minutes, then turn the beef over, baste it and add the red wine and butter to the tray. Remove the potato dish then carefully place a clean tea towel over it and push down to compact the spuds into a nice tight cake. Put the potatoes back into the oven for another 15–30 minutes.

Remove the beef from the oven and while it is resting continue browning the potato cake for 5 minutes if it needs it. When you're ready to serve, remove the string and the rosemary sprigs from the beef and carve it into nice slices.

Turn the potato cake out on to a board, or just scoop it out of the pan with a spoon if it's stuck and divide between your 4 serving plates beside the meat. Save any juices from the rested meat and return them to the tray, where the red wine and butter and all the goodness from the meat will have made a very simple but tasty cooking sauce. Finish by mushing up the garlic cloves, then pass the sauce through a sieve on to the meat. Lovely served with some dressed watercress.

Source

Peanut beef stir fry

Sauce:
1 large onion, sliced
1T grated ginger
peanut butter
garlic, crushed
1.5T sherry
2T soy sauce
1 pinch sugar
1/4 cup chicken stock

Meat:
Beef cut in strips
2 eggwhites
1.5T cornstarch

Stir fry onions and ginger; combine remaining sauce ingredients, add to pan and boil for a bit. Add beef, cook, push to the side, add rest of cornstarch mixture, allow to thicken, then recombine everything and serve.

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What do the food critics say? It was a while ago I made this, but I remember it being good.
What does the cook say? Easy.

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Source: somewhere on the internet. Sorry I didn't write down exact amounts for everything!

Beef tagine

600g (1lb 5oz) stewing beef
Olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
A small bunch of fresh coriander
1 x 400g (14oz) tin of chickpeas, drained
1 x 400g (14oz) tin of chopped tomatoes
800ml (11/3pt) vegetable stock
1 small squash (approximately 800g/1lb 12oz), deseeded and cut into 5cm (2in) chunks
100g (3½oz) prunes, stoned and roughly torn
2tbsp flaked almonds, toasted

For the spice rub
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 level tbsp ras el hanout spice mix
1 level tbsp ground cumin
1 level tbsp ground cinnamon
1 level tbsp ground ginger
1 level tbsp sweet paprika

Mix all the spice rub ingredients together in a small bowl. Put the beef into a large bowl, massage it with the spice rub, then cover with clingfilm and put in the fridge for a couple of hours - ideally overnight.

When you're ready to cook, heat a generous lug of olive oil in a tagine or casserole-type pan and fry the meat over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add your chopped onion and coriander stalks and fry for another 5 minutes.

Tip in the chickpeas and tomatoes, then pour in 400ml (14fl oz) of stock and stir. Bring to the boil, then put the lid on the pan or cover with foil and reduce to a simmer for 1½ hours.

At this point add the squash, the prunes and the rest of the stock. Give everything a gentle stir, then pop the lid back on the pan and continue cooking for another 1½ hours. Keep an eye on it and add a splash of water if it looks too dry.

Once the time is up, take the lid off and check the consistency. If it seems a bit runny, simmer for 5 to 10 minutes more with the lid off. The beef should be tender and flaking apart now, so have a taste and season with a pinch or two of salt.

Scatter the coriander leaves over the tagine along with the toasted almonds, then take it straight to the table with a big bowl of couscous and dive in.

Source