Roast beef, spinach and tomato salad recipe

A piece of roasted beef fillet cut into chunky slices and served with a simple spinach, tomato and pine nut salad is very simple to make but has a real wow factor on a buffet party table. Beef fillet is a premium cut, it’s not cheap but there is no wastage and you’re guaranteed that it will be meltingly tender. It’s best served rare or medium to keep it moist and succulent. For a slightly cheaper version you could pan-fry sirloin steaks until medium rare then slice into strips. The balsamic and wholegrain mustard dressing is simple to make, just put all the ingredients in a screw top jar and shake well.

Ingredients

• 2tbsp olive oil
• 1kg piece beef fillet, at room temperature
• 200g spinach leaves, rinsed and drained
• 6 tomatoes, sliced
• 75g pine nuts, toasted in a dry frying pan

Balsamic dressing:

• 3tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 100ml olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2tsp wholegrain mustard

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Fan 200°C/Gas Mark 7. Rub the 2tbsp olive oil over the beef and season well with salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Heat a frying pan until hot. Add the beef and fry for 5 mins, turning, until browned on all sides.
2. Transfer to a roasting tin and cook in the oven for 20 mins for rare or 30 mins for medium. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 10 mins.
3. Whisk the dressing ingredients together with a fork or place in a screw top jar and shake to mix. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. Arrange the spinach and tomatoes on a platter and sprinkle over the pine nuts. Cut the beef into chunky slices and arrange on the platter. Pour over the dressing to serve.