Rare roast beef, horseradish cream and wild garlic

TV chef Valentine Warner became a friend of the Peter’s Yard team back in 2008. He remains a fan to this day, listing us as one of his favourite suppliers.

This year he’s been working with us to create a series of simple and delicious Swedish inspired toppings to serve on our crispbread. Drawing on his love of seasonal ingredients and the simple idea of the Scandinavian open sandwich, Val has created four recipes that taste as good as they look.

Serves 4

This topping serves four using one very large Peter’s Yard crispbread, which can be cut with a sharp knife to serve. Alternatively serve on four individual standard size crispbreads.

Ingredients:

• Approximately 250g of rare roast beef, very thinly sliced
• 150 ml of whipping cream
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard (for the cream) plus extra for spreading
• 1 fresh horseradish, peel the amount you want to use, grate finely
• 6 gherkins, sliced thinly
• 1 tbsp baby capers, rinsed
• A few broken walnuts, optional
• A squeeze of lemon juice
• Small bunch of fresh tarragon, leaves picked from stem
• Small bunch of fresh dill, fronds picked and stalks discarded
• 12 wild garlic flowers if available (from approx. 1 or 2 flower heads)
• ½ small red onion, very finely diced
• Lemon zest
• Flaked sea salt
• Olive oil
• Black pepper

Method:

1. Pour the cream into a bowl and add the mustard. Whisk until semi stiff peaked. Be careful not overbeat.
2. Carefully fold in as much finely grated horseradish to make it as hot as you desire, season with salt. Do not beat the cream at this stage.
3. Toast the fennel seeds over a low heat, in a small dry pan, until their aroma rises and they have turned a pale brown. Tip into a small bowl.
4. Spread some mustard (about 1 ½ tsp) over the crispbread. Cover with the slithers of thinly sliced beef. Curl and drape it rather than place it down flat. Season the beef with flaked sea salt and drizzle with a little olive oil.
5. Scatter with the thinly sliced gherkins, the capers, onion and walnuts, squeeze over a little lemon juice.
6. Put some spoonfuls of the whipped horseradish cream here and there, so that you are getting some with every bite. Season generously with black pepper followed by a fine grating of lemon zest.
7. Scatter the herbs over everything and finish with the wild garlic flowers.