Slow Roasted Beef with Rainbow Carrots and Truffle Oil

Photo provived by Sadiq's Food Photography Blog (Click here)

Rainbow carrots have just come into season and the varieties usually consist of purple, white and yellow. Originally, carrots used to be purple but after years of agricultural science and lack of imagination from our supermarket suppliers we've become accustom to orange carrots.
Here's a lovely winter salad recipe in which I marry beef, truffle oil and rainbow carrots together.

800g beef shoulder
1kg mixed rainbow carrots
70g hazelnuts
120g watercress, washed
75ml dark truffle oil
Sea salt and crushed pepper corns
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Method:
Place beef in a baking tray and pour over 250ml water, then generously rub beef in salt and pepper and drizzle over truffle oil. Cover tray with foil and place in oven set at 160ºC for 2 and half hours.

Peel the carrots, cut the top and tail then slice into 1cm thick long strips. Place carrots in a baking tray and pour over olive oil. Season carrots with a little salt and pepper then place in the oven with beef and roast for 50 minutes.

Roughly chop the hazelnuts in half, place a small pan over a medium heat and lightly toast the hazelnuts.

Once beef is cooked pull apart using 2 forks. To make the salad, you can either make 4-6 individual portions or one large platter. First lay down the watercress followed by carrots and shredded beef and lastly sprinkle over with hazelnuts and serve.

Slow Roasted Beef with Black Mustard Leaf, Pear and Gorgonzola

With a bit of patience you can pull off this ridiculously tasty salad. However first you need to source black mustard leaf which can be a wee bit tricky if you don't have access to a wholesale fruit and vegetable supplier. I recommend you buy a book on foraging and picking your own in a local reserve/park or going online and see if there's a stockist who will deliver, its well worth the hassle. Black mustard leaf when eaten has a intense horseradish like heat that turns into a pleasant lingering bitterness and complements beef, pears and blue cheese.
Acquiring black mustard leaf might be tricky but it's waiting for the beef to slow roast and the jus to reduce that will test your patience, this will give you plenty of time to knock back a bottle of red and read 50 Shades of Grey.  

1.5kg beef shoulder
750ml water
2 tablespoons sea salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
2 firm pears
200g gorgonzola
60g rocket washed
40g black mustard leaf washed

250ml red wine
50g butter

METHOD:
Place beef shoulder in a deep roasting pan with water and sprinkle over the salt and pepper, cover beef and place in oven to slow roast at 140oC for 2 1/2 hours.
Once beef has cooked pour the roasting juices into a container and place in fridge to cool for half an hour or till the fat has solidified. Leave the beef to stand and cool at room temperature.  Once fat has solidified strain the beef juices away from the fat, place beef juices in sauce pan with red wine and place over a high heat and bring to the boil. Once Jus is boiling turn the heat down to medium and leave to simmer and reduce till a quarter of its original volume. In the mean time core the pears and slice into thin strips. Cube butter and once the jus has reduced stir in butter till just melted and remove from heat.
To construct the salad you can either make individual plates or one large platter, first lay down some rocket followed by slice's of pear. Using 2 forks or clean fingers pull the beef apart and place over salad, then tear black mustard cress and crumble gorgonzola over top of salad. Lastly drizzle over the jus and serve as soon as possible.

Slow Roasted Beef and Cherry Capsicum Salad with Strawberry Dressing

Everything in this salad is rather standard apart from the strawberry dressing, you'll find that strawberries aren't too dissimilar to raw cherry tomatoes. You could make a ketchup from strawberries and I bet the average person wouldn't be able to tell the difference between tomato or strawberry.
Whats a classic sauce that marries with beef? Tomato! There for strawberries should work just as well, and they do, so why not trust me and make this salad during the weekend.  
 
600g beef shoulder
400g cherry capsicum tomatoes
200g strawberries
200g buffalo mozzarella ball
100g watercress washed
50ml extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and cracked pepper

METHOD:
Place beef in baking tray, drizzle over half the olive oil, 250ml warm water, season generously with salt and pepper. Cover tray with foil and place in oven set at 140oC for 3 hours.
Put tomatoes in another baking tray season with salt, pepper and drizzle over remaining half of olive oil and place in oven with beef and cook for 1 and half hours.
Drain mozzarella ball and leave to sit at room temperature to mature and soften. Hull strawberries and place in food processor and blitz into a smooth puree.
Once beef has finished cooking leave to stand for 15 minutes then gently slice thin pieces of beef and place back in the tray with remaining liquid to soak up flavours.
To construct salad you can either make one large platter or individual servings. First lay down some watercress then tear off small pieces of mozzarella, slightly crush tomatoes and place on salad. Drape slices of beef on top of salad and lastly drizzle over the strawberry dressing and serve as soon as possible.