BEEF IN A ROSEMARY CRUST
Serves six to eight
- 1 EMH beef eye of round
- a bunch of rosemary
- freshly ground black pepper
sides:
- 2 onions
- 4-5 bay leaves
- 1.5 kg potatoes
- herb salt
- cold-pressed rapeseed oil
Strip the rosemary leaves from the stems and chop finely. Spread on a cutting board and grind pepper over them. Roll the beef in the rosemary mixture, coating it evenly on all sides. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate overnight. Take the meat out about half an hour before cooking. Heat oil in a pan and sear the beef on all sides. Transfer to a wire rack on a baking tray and roast in a preheated 180°C oven for about 40-50 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 60°C. Remove from the oven, cover with foil and let rest for at least 20-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, peel the onions and cut into wedges. Add a little more oil to the same pan where you seared the meat. Add the onions, brown them, then add the potatoes and bay leaves, season and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are golden and tender. Slice the meat thinly, season with salt and serve with the pan-fried potatoes. If any juices have collected while the meat rested, use them as a sauce.
ROAST BEEF SANDWICH
Serves four
- leftover roast beef from the previous day
- 8 slices of sourdough bread
- sauerkraut or pickled cucumbers
- grated cheese
sauce:
- 3 tbsp quality mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp plain yoghurt
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1-2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp horseradish
- salt
For the sauce, peel and grate the garlic and mix with the other sauce ingredients. Slice the roast beef very thinly. If using pickled cucumbers, slice them thinly as well. Line a baking tray with parchment paper, place the bread slices on top and toast in a preheated 200°C oven for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle plenty of cheese on all bread halves and pile as much sliced beef as you like on four of them. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese melts and the meat is warm. Remove, drizzle sauce over the meat, top with a generous amount of cucumber slices or sauerkraut. Spread sauce on the cheesy side of the remaining bread halves as well, place on top, press gently together and serve.
CHINESE-STYLE BRAISED BEEF
Serves five
- 900 g EMH beef eye of round
- 3 medium onions
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 star anise
- 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
- a small piece of ginger
- 2-3 bird's eye chillies
- cold-pressed rapeseed oil
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 5 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 medium carrots
- 400 g small potatoes
Peel and thinly slice the onions and ginger. Crush the peppercorns with the back of a knife. Peel the carrots and potatoes, cut the carrots into 1 cm rounds and halve the potatoes. Cut the beef into 2x2 cm cubes, place in a pot, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam, then remove the cubes with a slotted spoon and strain the broth through a fine sieve or cloth. Heat a little oil in a pan, add the onion and ginger, cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is golden. Add the bay leaves, star anise, crushed peppercorns and chillies, heat for a few more minutes. Then add the beef cubes and enough broth to cover the meat (save the rest -- add more during braising if needed). Season with soy sauce and rice vinegar, cover tightly and simmer on low heat for 75 minutes. Then add the carrot rounds, cook for 15 minutes, add the potatoes last and continue cooking until the potatoes are tender.
