FILLET OF BEEF WITH BEETROOT AND HORSERADISH DRESSING

When you’re serving numbers at a smart dinner party, it’s always a good feeling to know the first course is made and waiting in the fridge. This recipe is perfect for that. When you carve the fillet, you want the slices to be long and thin rather than round – middle-cut fillets give you the correct shape. Serve with brown bread rolls.

Serves 6

300g (10½oz) middle-cut fillet steak, trimmed 1tbsp olive oil, plus a little extra to serve

Salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 medium-sized cooked beetroot, thinly sliced 50g (1¾oz) rocket

50g (1¾oz) piece of Parmesan cheese

For the horseradish dressing

2tbsp creamed horseradish sauce 3tbsp light mayonnaise 2tbsp lemon juice

Rub the steak with the oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat a frying pan until very hot, then fry the fillet for 2½ minutes on each side. This will give you a rare steak. If you prefer medium, cook for another minute on each side. Remove from the pan and leave to cool.

To make the dressing, put the ingredients into a small bowl and whisk with a hand whisk until smooth and combined. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

When the steak is cold, carve it into very thin slices – you’re aiming to get 30 slices per fillet. Arrange five thin slices in a star shape on each plate. Arrange five slices of beetroot in the middle of the plate in a spiral shape, then drizzle with the horseradish dressing.

Gather together a little bundle of rocket leaves for each plate and place on top of the beetroot. Using a potato peeler, shave little shavings of Parmesan over the top.

Drizzle with a little olive oil and serve straight away.