Roast Beef with Red Wine Gravy

If you like good, old fashioned English cooking--then this prime beef roast has the best gravy you'll ever make. Throwing the vegetables away at the end is always the hardest part for me. But you have to remember that all of the life has been sucked out of them. Just like what happens when we watch our kids' YouTube channels.

Serve with baked potatoes, freshly steamed green beans and, of course, Yorkshire Puddings!

Ingredients

• 1.2kg joint of Beef Sirloin or Rib-Eye
• 2.5 Tbsp Plain Flour
• 1/2 tsp Celery Salt
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper, fresh, ground
• Olive Oil, to drizzle
• 1 Tbsp English Mustard
• 1 Red Onion, peeled and cut into wedges
• 1 Carrot, peeled, roughly chopped
• 2 Celery Sticks, roughly chopped
• 10 Thyme sprigs
• 2 Rosemary sprigs
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 300ml Red Wine
• 600ml Beef or Veal Stock

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 230degC.
2. Trim off any excess fat from the beef, leaving on a thin, even layer. Mix 1 tablespoon of flour with the celery salt and pepper in a small bowl. Drizzle a little olive oil all over the beef, then rub with a little salt and pepper. Brush the fat with the mustard, then coat with the seasoned flour.
3. Put the onion, carrot, celery and herbs into a lightly oiled roasting tin. Season and drizzle with a little olive oil. Place the beef on top and drizzle with a little more olive oil.
4. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes, then lower the oven setting to 190degC and roast for another 35-45 minutes for medium rare meat. To check, insert a skewer into the meat and press lightly--the redder the juice, the rarer the meat.
5. Transfer beef to a warm platter, cover loosely with foil and rest in a warm spot for 20 minutes.
6. Transfer vegetables and herbs in the roasting tin to a saucepan and set aside also.
7. Now let's make that gravy. Pour off most of the oil from the roasting tin and place the tin over a medium heat on the stove. Stir in the remaining 1/2 tbsp flour and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes, then pour in the wine. Bring to a simmer, scraping up any sediment from the bottom of the tin.
8. Tip the gravy into the saucepan with the vegetables and put it on the stove-top, bring to the boil. Discard roasting tin. Let bubble until the wine has reduced by half. Pour in the stock and again boil until reduced by half, or to a light gravy consistency. Strain through a fine sieve into a warm jug, pressing down on the vegetables to extract the juices. Discard vegetables. Season to taste.
9. Carve the beef into thin slices and serve with the gravy, Yorkshire Puddings, roast potatoes and other accompaniments of your choice.