Perfect roast beef
Ingredients
1.5kg topside of beef
2 medium onions
2 carrots
1Tbsp Mustard
1 bulb of garlic
1 bunch of mixed fresh herbs, such as thyme, rosemary, bay, sage
olive oil
Preparation
Remove the beef from the fridge 30 minutes before you want to cook it, to let it come up to room temperature.
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Preheat the oven to 240°C/475°F/ gas 9.
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Wash and roughly chop the vegetables – there’s no need to peel them. Break the garlic bulb into cloves, leaving them unpeeled.
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Pile all the veg, garlic and herbs into the middle of a large roasting tray and drizzle with oil.
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Brush the beef with Mustard, drizzle with oil and season well with sea salt and black pepper, then rub all over the meat. Place the beef on top of the vegetables.
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Place the tray in the oven, then turn the heat down immediately to 200°C/400°F/gas 6 and cook for 1 hour for medium beef. If you prefer it medium-rare, take it out 5 to 10 minutes earlier. For well done, leave it in for another 10 to 15 minutes. (If you have a temoperature probe, you want the internal temperature of the beef to reach 55 degrees C.
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Baste the beef halfway through cooking and if the veg look dry, add a splash of water to the tray to stop them from burning.
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When the beef is cooked to your liking, take the tray out of the oven and transfer the beef to a board to rest for 15 minutes or so. Cover it with a layer of tin foil and a tea towel and leave aside while you make your gravy, horseradish sauce and Yorkshire puddings.