Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 1 kg topside of beef, with no added fat
2 tbsp olive oil
8 young carrots, tops trimmed (but leave a little if liked)
1 celery stick, finely chopped
200 ml white wine
600 ml rich beef stock
2 bay leaves
500 g onions
A few thyme sprigs
1 tsp butter
1 tsp light brown or light musovado sugar
2 tsp plain flour
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Directions: |
Directions:1. heat the oven to 160ºC/140ºC fan. Rub the meat with 1 tsp of the oil and plenty of seasoning. Heat a large flameproof casserole dish and brown the meat all over for about 10 mins. Meanwhile, ass 2 tsp oil to a frying pan and fry the carrots and celery for 10 mins until turning golden.
2. Lift the beef onto a plate, splash the wine into the hot casserole and boil for 2 mins. Pour in the stock, return the beef, then tuck in the carrots, celery and bay leaves, trying not to submerge the carrots too much. Cover and cook in the oven for 2 hours, turning the beef halfway through cooking.
3. Meanwhile, thinly slice the onions. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and stir in the onions, thyme and seasoning. Cover and cook gently for 20 mins until the onions are softened but not coloured. Remove the lid, turn ip the heat, add the butter and sugar, then let the onions caramelise to a dark golden brown, stirring often. Remove the thyme sprigs, then set aside.
4. When the beef is ready, it will be tender and easy to pull apart at the edges. Remove it from the casserole and snip off the strings. Also remove the carrots.
5. Reheat the onion pan, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk the floury onions into the beefy juices in the casserole to make a thick onion gravy. Taste for seasoning. Add the beef and carrots back to the casserole, or slice the beef and bring to the table on a platter, with the carrots to the side and the gravy spooned over. |
This recipe for Pot-roast Beef with French Onion Gravy is from