Slow roasted beef

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Ingredients

Serves 5

1kg chuck beef slow roast
1 onion, peeled and sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
200g mushrooms, thickly sliced
3 carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal
100g bacon, chopped
3cm celeriac slice, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or dried base herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano)
Maldon Sea salt
Good grind of black pepper
100ml red cooking wine
200ml vegetable bouillon or stock cube

Timings

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 4 hours 10 minutes
Total time: 4 hours 30 minutes

Slow roasted beef

A beautiful slow roast for any time of the year. When we think of June in the UK we often think of long summer evenings and sunshine. In reality, it can be windy and cold too! Here’s a recipe for one of those kinds of days. A perfect weekend roast where you can put it in the oven and forget about it. The beef melts in your mouth and the vegetables soak up the the delicious flavours. No need for an extra sauce as you’ll have plenty of juices to go around.

Method

Take the beef out of the fridge and bring to room temperature 30 minutes before cooking.

Preheat the oven to 150/290/gas 1. You will need an ovenproof dish with a tight fitting lid.

Season the beef well. Using your hands, smear over the Dijon mustard. Heat the oil in the ovenproof dish and brown the meat on all sides. This will add flavour and depth. Take the meat off the heat and place to one side.

Add the onions, celery, celeriac and bacon to the oil and sauté for 3 minutes. Next add the mushrooms and carrots and sauté for a further 3 minutes. Finally add the garlic and sauté for a final 2 minutes.

Add the wine and deglaze the bottom of the pan with a non-scratch spatula. Deglazing means scraping up all the browned bits on the bottom of the dish to combine with the liquid as these will add extra flavour. Add the stock and stir.

Finally, add the meat on top of the vegetables and sauce, sprinkle over the herbs and season again with salt and pepper.

Bring the beef just to the boil, pop the lid on it and place it in the oven for 4 hours.

Take out of the oven, remove the beef to a plate to let it rest and cover with foil. Place the juices back on a high heat and reduce the sauce for 10-15 minutes.

Serve with crushed new potatoes, sautéed courgettes, horseradish and grainy mustard.

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