Spring Roast of Scotch Beef with a Wild Garlic Pesto Crust

Wednesday 1 April 2015
Capture the flavours of Spring with a Joint of Scotch Beef topped with a Wild Garlic Pesto Crust. Head out to a local woodland, field or riverbank and forage for some seasonal wild garlic. The resulting pesto is such a versatile ingredient with a multitude of uses.





When Quality Meat Scotland's Good Family Food Facebook Page asked me to come up with an Easter recipe that was an interesting take on a classic roast I immediately thought of Lamb. However despite Easter and Lambs being somewhat intrinsically intertwined in our minds along with chicks, eggs, bunnies and chocolate, historically lambs are bred in the spring rather than eaten then. As such a newly born spring lamb may look cute but it won't be ready to roast until the Autumn. Scotch Beef will be on the Easter table here.


For me Wild Garlic is one of the most easily identifiable and unmistakable foragable foods. Take a look at the Galloway Wild Food Website for further identification and distribution information. It's smell is so distinctive and the taste, particularly early in the season, very pungent. You may very well smell it in the woods before you spot its long lush leaves. Look for it in semi shaded moist woodland areas, river banks are a good place to start. Later in the season it bursts into bloom with white flowers which are also edible.


WILD GARLIC PESTO
100g Wild Garlic
75g Pine Nuts - toasted
75g Parmesan Cheese - grated
150ml Scottish Rapeseed Oil
Salt & Pepper

Wash and pat dry the wild garlic leaves, toast the pine nuts in a dry non stick pan and grate the Parmesan.
Place everything in a food processor or blender and blitz until it reaches the desired consistency. 

This recipe will make a larger quantity of pesto than you need for the Spring Roast of Scotch Beef recipe. Store the remainder in a jar in the fridge or freeze in individual ice cube portions. Great stirred through pasta for a quick meal, served on top of lamb chops, steak or fish or mix some into a soup, risotto or mashed potatoes for a fresh garlicky kick.


WILD GARLIC PESTO CRUSTED BEEF
3 Tbsp Wild Garlic Pesto 
3 Tbsp Breadcrumbs
Joint of Scotch Beef - Sirloin, Forerib Topside or Silverside

Take the beef out of the fridge and remove any packaging and allow it at least 30 minutes to come up to room temperature.
Preheat your oven to 180c
Mix together the wild garlic pesto and breadcrumbs and press on top of the joint of beef.
Place the beef in a roasting tin and cook to your preference. 
Rare: 20 minutes per 450g plus 20 minutes
Medium: 25 minutes per 450g plus 25 minutes
Well Done: 30 minutes per 450g plus 30 minutes
Alternatively use an internal temperature probe
Rare: 45-47c
Medium: 55-60c
Well Done: 65-70c
Remove from the oven and leave to rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Any left overs make amazing stovies. 


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www.foodiequine.co.uk Capture the flavours of Spring with a Joint of Scotch Beef topped with a Wild Garlic Pesto Crust. Head out to a local woodland, field or riverbank and forage for some seasonal wild garlic. The resulting pesto is such a versatile ingredient with a multitude of uses.

Disclosure: This is a commissioned post for Quality Meat Scotland. As always, all views expressed are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands who make it possible for me as a passionate Scottish Food Blogger to continue to share my Edible Food and Travel Adventures with you. I’m super choosy who I work with and promise to bring you only the cream of the crop.

8 comments

  1. Wild garlic pesto is so delicious and it's wonderful to see such vibrant green at this time of year. I haven't gathered any this year yet and really must get on to it before it's too late.

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    1. I'm sure my batch this year is much greener than it has been in the past. I think it perhaps gets darker as the season goes on. Get out there and grab some quick before its too late!

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  2. Lovely lovely wild garlic pesto and a glorious recipe. Thank you for linking up to Simple and in Season

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    1. I definitely felt this captured both the simple and in season elements. Free food available for only a short time period.

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  3. This sounds like my perfect dish! Love the pesto though not sure where I could find wild garlic... may need to get chummier with my allotment holding neighbours! Thanks for linking to #CookBlogShare

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    1. You can sometimes buy it at markets and greengrocers at this time of year if there is none growing locally. Hope you can track some down.

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  4. That looks divine. Why don't you get a pinterest button on your images to make it easier to pin. Just a thought. Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays

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    Replies
    1. Thanks it was divine and a real taste of spring. Pinterest button is on my never ending to do list!

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