The ultimate steak

with vinegar roasties

Serves 6

1h 30min

Not to tricky

Preparation
I use a plastic water spritzer to spray the potatoes with
the homemade flavoured vinegar it gives those
crispy potatoes an added smack of flavour.
Around 1 hour 30 minutes before you're ready to start,
remove the meat from the fridge and leave aside to
come up to room temperature.

Ingredients
-trimmed cte de boeuf, with a
good layer of intramuscular fat

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas 6. Place a large

roasting tray in the oven to preheat. Meanwhile, slice
the potatoes into rough 5cm chunks, then parboil in a
pan of salted boiling water for around 12 minutes.
Drain and return to the pan, shake to chuff them up,
then leave to steam dry. Carefully remove the tray
from the oven, add a good splash of olive oil, the
butter and rosemary sprigs. Separate and bash the
garlic cloves, then scatter into the tray of potatoes.
Gently toss to coat, then season with salt and place in
the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until golden and
crisp.
Meanwhile, add the flavoured vinegar ingredients to
a small plastic water spritzer, then set aside for later.
Make a herb brush by tying the woody herbs to the
end of a wooden spoon with string. Preheat an
ovenproof frying pan over a high heat to get it nice
and hot you want to do this around 25 minutes
before the potatoes are ready. Add a splash of olive
oil, then season the steak well and add to the pan,
fat side-down, for a few minutes so the fat renders
out. Sear the steak for around 8 minutes, or until
browned all over, turning and basting with the herb
brush every minute or so, then place in the oven for
around 15 minutes for medium, or cook to your liking,
turning halfway.

such as thyme, oregano and rosemary

Transfer to a board, drizzle with the juices from the

pan and leave to rest for around 3 minutes. When the
roast potatoes are a few minutes away from being
ready, spritz with the flavoured vinegar don't add
too much, you want it to be subtle. Return to the
oven for 30 seconds, then lightly squash with a fish
slice. Spritz with a little more flavoured vinegar and
return to the oven for a final few minutes.

flakes

Calories

Carbs

Sugar

Fat

Saturates

Protein

706

54.1g

2.2g

38.7g

16.8g

38.2g

Slice up the steak on a board and sprinkle with a little

salt. Add a little extra virgin olive oil to the resting
juices, then drizzle over the steak and serve with a
nice salad, the vinegary roasties and a dollop of
mustard, if you like.

Mini beef Wellingtons

Serves 4

1h (plus cooling)

Not to tricky

Preparation
This recipe is a nod to the traditional beef Wellington,
but I'm using minced beef instead of beef fillet and
throwing in a hint of chilli and cumin for an updated
flavour. You could also use pork mince, lamb mince
or even a mixture, and, during the season, make it
even more interesting by adding some game. And, as
you've probably noticed, I've decided to make mine
into individual rolls, so everyone gets their own. What
a treat!
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Heat a frying
pan and add a splash of olive oil. Add the onion,
carrot, garlic and celery, and cook on a medium
heat for 10 minutes, until it's all softened nicely. Add
the spices, mix well, cook for another minute, then
transfer to a bowl to cool.

Ingredients

Once the vegetables have cooled completely, add

the beef mince, kidney beans and tomato puree with
a good pinch of salt and pepper and one of the
beaten eggs. With clean hands, get right in there and
scrunch everything together.

-range eggs, beaten in separate

bowls

Dust a work surface and rolling pin with flour and roll
out the puff pastry. Try to keep it as rectangular in
shape as possible. Once it's roughly the size of a tea
towel, cut it into 4. Spoon the meat mixture over each
piece, leaving clear about 2cm along the bottom,
and a small edge up either side. Sprinkle the grated
cheese over the meat, brush the bottom edge of the
pastry with beaten egg and roll it up into a spiral. Seal
both ends with your fingers. Repeat until you have 4
lovely mini Wellingtons.
Dust a baking tray with flour and carefully place the
Wellingtons on it. Brush each with the remaining
beaten egg, and bake in the oven for 25 minutes until
golden. Serve with simple mashed swede and lovely
buttered peas and you'll have happy guests.

Calories

Carbs

Sugar

Fat

Saturates

Protein

1026

59.0g

7.6g

66.3g

24.6g

44.7g

Perfect roast beef

Serves 6-8

1h 05min (plus
resting time)

Super easy

Preparation
I've used a joint of topside here because it is by far
the most widely available roasting joint, but you can
also use rib of beef. The meat has to be rested after
cooking for at least half an hour and sliced really
thinly for you to enjoy the tenderness. The timings
below are just a guide, as they can differ depending
on the type of oven you have or the size of the joint.
To prepare your beef:
Take your beef out of the fridge 30 minutes before it
goes into the oven. Preheat your oven to
240C/475F/ 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.

Ingredients

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.

sage, or a mixture

To cook your beef:

Place the roasting tray in the preheated oven. Turn
the heat down immediately to 200C/400F/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.

Calories

Carbs

Sugar

Fat

Saturates

Protein

860

13.3g

7.6g

54.0g

21.1g

79.8g