Recipes

Succulent roast beef

• 200-250gm roasting beef  per person
• Oil
  
• salt, black pepper
• Grain or seeded mustard
• 1 clove garlic - crushed
• 1 glass red wine
• 1 beef stock cube/ 250ml beef stock
• 1 tsp cornflour

Roast vegetables

(per person)

• 3-4 peices peeled potato, cut in 2½in/5cm pieces
• 2 peices carrot, cut in 3-4in/6-8cm lengths
• parsnip, cut the same as carrot
• sweet potato and pumpkin, peeled and cut the same size as the potato

OR STEAMED VEGETABLES. Anything green, beans, broccoli, peas, okra. Maybe some cauliflower gratin(not really green but great anyway)

Preheat your oven to 220°C/430°F. Place the beef in a roasting tray with 2-3Tbs of oil. Spread it with the grain mustard, crushed garlic and salt and pepper.

Place the beef in the oven to start cooking. After 20mins reduce the temperature to 180°C/360°F. Allow approximately 20mins per 500gm/1lbs plus an extra 20mins to cook the beef.

One hour before the beef is cooked add the potatoes, sweet potato and pumpkin to the roasting pan. After 15mins add the carrots and parsnips. Turn the vegetables every 15mins so they don't burn.

To test whether the meat is cooked, insert a roasting fork or metal skewer into the centre of the roast, leave it in there for 10 seconds, then take it out and put the end of the fork or skewer which you inserted in the roast on your bottom lip(that's right the lip of your mouth). If the fork is just warm on your lip the meat is medium-rare, medium-hot the meat is medium. If the fork is hot on your lip the meat is well cooked. This one is an old Chefs trick and really impresses people that you can tell how a roast is cooked just by putting a fork in it and putting it on your lip. Don't forget to wash the fork before you use it again. :-)

Once the roast is cooked take it and the vegetables out of the roasting pan and keep them warm. You now need to cook your green vegetables and make your gravy.
Carefully pour off any oil from the pan, put on a medium heat on top of the stove and pour in the glass of wine. Stir with a wooden spoon to get all the meat juices off the bottom of the pan. When the wine has reduced by ½ - ¾ add the beef stock or 1 cup of water and a stock cube. Continue stirring to get all those juices off the base of the pan. Mix the cornflour with a little water and mix it to a smooth paste. Gradually pour it into the sauce while stirring it. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon and be free of lumps. Strain the sauce into a gravy boat or jug.

Ok, every thing is ready! Slice the roast thinly, serve with the vegetables and gravy.