Roast Beef with “all the trimmings!”

Our English Rose Sam from Becks’n'Posh invited us all help prove English grub is No Joke, by offering our takes on the cuisine.

While I didn’t have a lot of Roast Beef growing up, actually I can’t recall having it at all, being a Kiwi it was always a Roast leg of Lamb with Mint sauce, J sure remembers Sunday Roast Beef growing up!
Every other weekend without fail, he and his family would drive several hours from Dinas Powys near Cardiff in Wales to a small village near Colchester in Essex, to his Grandparents home where his Grandmother would have a Grand Roast and Yorkshire pudding waiting to be served when they arrived and it was all cooked on an old coal range no less, with no ‘recipe’.
It’s not a surprise then he has fond memories and a bit of a soft spot for anything like his Grandma used to make, including a nice roast followed by a nice pudding with custard!

Sadly I think this would only be the 2nd time I’ve cooked Roast Beef with “all the trimmings” in the 10 years since J and I met, yet I’m rather fond of Yorkshire Puddings drenched in gravy myself!

• Yorkshire Pudding
• 1 cup of flour
• Good pinch of salt
• 1 cup of whole milk
• 2 free range eggs
• 30 grams of butter to ‘knob’

1. Whisk the eggs and milk together thoroughly.
2. Sift the flour and salt together several times to fill it with air
3. Whisk the light airy flour into the milk and egg mixture ensuring it is a smooth batter.
4. Transfer to a pouring jug and leave to stand until the roast is done.
5. Make 12 very small knobs of butter about the size of a trimmed index fingernail (who cooks with long fingernails anyway?!)
6. When your roast is done turn the oven to 190 deg C.
7. Place a 12 regular piece muffin pan (preferably non-stick!) into the oven to heat up for 4 minutes.
8. Working quickly remove the hot! muffin pan from the oven, drop the small knobs of butter in each piece, swirl the butter to grease the pans and pour the batter evenly halfway up in each compartment.
9. Return to the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the puddings have risen crusts, puffy and golden.
10. Serve immediately!
11. Makes 12, ideal for 4 to 6 people

I served my small 1kg Peter Timbs Roast Beef with Yorkshire Puddings obviously, but also, a red wine gravy, Horseradish sauce, Crispy Roasted Potatoes, Steamed greens (including - broccoli, cauliflower, green beans and silverbeet (aka swiss chard) that were tossed through sliced leeks softened in lots of butter with bay leaves) and Grated Soften Carrots with Lemon and Thyme.

• Grated Soften Carrots with Lemon and Thyme
• 5 medium carrots, grated
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• Fresh thyme sprigs
• Juice of half a lemon
• Freshly ground black pepper and salt

1. In a large pan or wok soften the grated carrots and thyme sprigs in the olive oil over a medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes.
2. Squeeze over the lemon juice and season to taste.
3. Serve immediately or keep in a warm place until you are ready to serve.
4. Serves 4 to 6

Now it certainly is not the first time I’ve made a Pudding and Custard.
We Marshalls adore our custard and J loves it so much so, that our girls affectionately call him, “The Custard King!” Even our “Right Royal Dribbly Dude” a.k.a the cat, appreciates it!

• Plum Jam Roly-Poly Pudding
• 300 grams of plain white flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 tablespoon of castor sugar
• a pinch of salt
• zest of a lemon
• 150 grams of cold butter, cubed
• 100 mls of full cream milk
• 3 tablespoons of plain unsweetened yoghurt
• 150 to 200 grams of Plum jam
• 2 cups of boiling water
• 1 cup of white sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Place the dry ingredients into a large bowl or food processor, add the lemon zest and butter, and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Stir in the milk and yoghurt so the mixture is soft but not too wet.
4. On a lightly floured bench or board, roll the dough out to a rectangle roughly measuring 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 inches).
5. Spread the rectangle with plenty of plum jam, leaving a 1/2 inch edge.
6. Roll the dough up like a Swiss roll, sealing the edge with a little milk.
7. Place the pudding in a well greased or lined baking dish, sealed edge down.
8. In a medium sized pouring jug combine the boiling water and sugar to form a syrup.
9. Pour the hot syrup over the pudding and cover with a pleated ‘tent’ of baking paper and foil.
10. Bake for 30 minutes, remove the foil and continue baking for a further 15 minutes.
11. Leave to cool slightly before serving thick slices with warm custard and / or whipped cream as desired.
12. Serves 4 to 6

For a whole pile more delectable English grub check out Sam’s round up here

Enjoy!