Red poached beef with crushed parsnips

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6.

2. First cook the crushed parsnips. Pour the vegetable oil into a roasting tray and season it with salt and freshly ground pepper. Heat the oil in the tray in the oven until very hot.

3. Add in the parsnip, garlic and star anise, mixing well.

4. Roast for 30-40 minutes, stirring now and then, until the parsnips are cooked through.

5. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a deep, heavy-based frying pan. Add in the spring onion, garlic, ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, cloves and cinnamon and fry, stirring, for 3 minutes.

6. Add in the stock, brandy, soy sauce, sugar and salt to taste. Bring to the boil and cook briskly for 5 minutes.

7. Tightly wrap the beef in a couple of layers of cling-wrap and roll into a cylinder shape. Using a sharp knife, slice the beef into one-inch thick slices.

8. Reduce the heat and add the beef (still wrapped in cling wrap) to the sauce. Simmer for 8 minutes, adding the red and yellow pepper 1 minute before the end of the cooking time. REmove teh beef from teh pan and discard the plastic wrap

9. Crush the roasted parsnips into 4 small serving rings on 4 serving plates, remove the rings and garnish each portion with chopped coriander.

10. Place a slice of beef on each plate and spoon over the sauce. Serve at once.