Ingredients
- 1.5kg topside of beef
- 2 medium onions
- 2 carrots
- 2 sticks of celery
- 1 bulb of garlic
- a small bunch of fresh thyme, rosemary, bay or sage, or a mixture
- olive oil
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
To prepare the beef
- Take your beef out of the fridge 30 minutes before it goes into the oven
- Preheat your oven to 240°C/475°F/ gas 9
- There’s no need to peel the vegetables – just give them a wash and roughly chop them
- Break the garlic bulb into cloves, leaving them unpeeled
- Pile all the veg, garlic and herbs into the middle of a large roasting tray and drizzle with olive oil
- Drizzle the beef with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper, rubbing it all over the meat
- Place the beef on top of the vegetables
To cook the beef
- Place the roasting tray in the preheated oven
- 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’re doing roast potatoes and veggies, this is the time to crack on with them – get them into the oven for the last 45 minutes of cooking
- Baste the beef halfway through cooking and if the veg look dry, add a splash of water to the tray to stop them burning
- 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 tinfoil and a tea towel and put aside while you make your gravy, horseradish sauce and Yorkshire puddings