by
Sep 28. 2024
Sunday Roast
Recipe: British roast beef dinner
Serves 4
Preparation time 20 minutes
Cooking time about 1 hour + 15 minutes resting time
Ingredients 800g beef top side/ 2 onions/ 4 peeled garlic cloves/ 3 potatoes/ 3 carrots/ 2 leeks/ 20 Brussels sprouts/ 2 handfuls of peas/ 6 tbsp vegetable oil/ 1 bunch of mixed fresh herbs/ 3 tsp salt/ 3 tsp ground black pepper/ 6 heaped tsp gravy granules/ 280ml water
Measuring terminology: tbsp=tablespoon (15ml)/ tsp=teaspoon (5ml)
1 Remove the beef from the fridge 30 minutes before you want to cook it, to let it come up to room temperature.
2 Wash all of the vegetables. Peel the potatoes and cut them into large pieces, about 3cm chunks. Trim the outer leaves off the Brussels sprouts, cut off the bottom of the stalk then make a cut in the shape of a cross in the base. Trim the roots off the leeks and cut them into pieces the same size as the other vegetables. Put the potatoes, Brussels sprouts, leeks, and peas in an electric rice cooker in that order, add 80ml water, and cook on all-purpose steaming mode for 10 minutes. If you want to use a steamer instead, steam them for around 10-15 minutes.
3 Preheat the oven to 240°C/ 220°C Fan/ Gas 9.
4 Meanwhile, peel and wash the onions and carrots then cut them into large pieces (about 3cm chunks).
5 Pour 1 tbsp oil into a roasting dish and spread it all over the base. Tip the onions, garlic, carrots, and herbs into the dish. Sit the beef on top of the vegetables and drizzle 1 tbsp oil all over it; season well with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper.
6 Once the vegetables have finished cooking in the rice cooker, remove the vegetable water and keep it. (You can use the vegetable water to make the gravy sauce later.) Set the vegetables to one side.
7 Put 1 tbsp oil into another roasting dish, tip the cooked potatoes into the it, then add 3 more tbsp oil on top and mix well with a spoon to coat all sides of the potatoes.
8 Place the beef and potato dishes in the oven, then turn the heat down immediately to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6 and cook for about 1 hour. If the beef dish look dry during cooking, add a splash of about 40ml water to the tray to stop them from burning.
9 When the beef is cooked, take the dishes out of the oven and transfer the beef to a plate to rest for 15 minutes. Cover it loosely with a layer of tin foil.
10 Add the gravy granules into a jug and pour in hot boiled water whilst mixing well - use the vegetable water here for extra flavour. Keep mixing until all the granules have dissolved and the sauce has thickened.
11 Slice the beef into thin slices, place several of them on a plate together with the vegetables and potatoes, then serve with gravy, salt and pepper.
Sunday roast is also known by other names such as roast dinner or full roast. British Sunday roast normally comprises roast meat, roast potatoes, various steamed vegetables and Yorkshire puddings with gravy sauce. The meat used is typically beef, duck, chicken, turkey, pork, or lamb. Although it is eaten on weekdays now, it was traditionally prepared and eaten on a Sunday.
The most popular beef cuts for a roast are topside, rump and prime rib in the UK. If you want to know the beef cuts there’s a picture you can refer to on Wikipedia. I cooked my roast dinner with a piece of beef topside. When the beef has finished cooking take it out of the oven and let it rest for about 15 minutes away from heat. This allows the juices, which have been driven to the centre of the meat during cooking, to redistribute throughout the meat and be reabsorbed. As a result the meat will lose less juice when you cut it and be far more tender and juicy to eat.
Cut the potatoes roughly and try to make some thin edges on each piece - these will become crispy when cooked. When you put the potatoes in the oven dish, you need to coat all of the potato surfaces with the oil and arrange them so that they are not touching each other as much as possible. You can cook a variety of vegetables for a roast dinner, such as broccoli, cauliflower, kale, parsnip, or peas, depending on the season or your preference.
If you want to make Yorkshire puddings, refer to the recipe below. The ingredients and method are simple, and it goes well with gravy or meat. It can also be eaten separately as a dessert when topped with jam and cream.
Yorkshire Pudding Recipe
Makes 12
Cooking time about 20 minutes
Ingredients 100g plain flour/ 100g milk/ 2 large eggs (about 120g)/ ¼ tsp salt/ 3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 Preheat the oven to 220°C/ 200°C Fan/ Gas 8.
2 Cover the bottom of each compartment in a muffin tin with oil, and place it in the oven to warm the oil for 10 minutes.
3 Meanwhile, put the eggs into a jug and beat them together with ¼ tsp salt. Add the milk and flour to the jug while whisking until the batter is light and smooth.
4 Take the tray from the oven, then pour the batter quickly and evenly into each of the compartments.
5 Pop the tray back in the oven to cook for about 15 minutes, or until the puddings have risen and are golden brown. Do not open the oven door while cooking! If you do, the puddings may collapse.
There is no need to measure the exact amount of salt; you can add a pinch of salt per egg. I usually prepare Yorkshire puddings with roast beef, so I preheat the pudding tin in the oven for 10 minutes just before the meat is done and then cook them while the beef is resting. Crispy and soft Yorkshire puddings topped with plenty of gravy are really delicious when eaten with meat or vegetables.
When making Yorkshire puddings, usually you have to make a multiple of 6 or 12 so there are likely to be a few left over. I tried making them into some desserts by topping with whipped double cream and raspberry jam or chocolate sauce. As you can imagine, that's delicious too.
Sunday roast is easy to find when you go to a pub on a Sunday but it needs to be made in large quantities at once, so it is usually cooked at home when people have a gathering. I have never previously had a chance to cook a roast by myself, since in my family the men do most of the cooking when we have gatherings such as Christmas dinner. Moreover, I am not British and I’m not used to cooking traditional dishes, so I don’t have many opportunities to cook Sunday roast. Incidentally, my brother-in-law is really good at cooking roast beef.
I prefer my beef medium with a pink colour at the centre, but I failed to cook the meat to medium. Actually, the vegetables were a bit burnt. ^^ A grand version of a Sunday roast is a Christmas dinner. I prepared this recipe whilst practising a roast dinner. I am looking forward to becoming an upgraded kitchen assistant this Christmas.
