Pot-roast beef with French onion gravy

Pot-roast beef with French onion gravy

Silverside and topside are cheaper and leaner cuts of meat, well-suited to slow-cooking. The stock and juices make a great sauce when combined with caramelised onions

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 15 mins

Cook time

Cook 2 hrs 15 mins

Freezable

Super healthy

Method

  1. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. 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, add 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 hrs. (I like to turn the beef halfway through cooking.)
  3. Meanwhile, thinly slice the onions. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and stir in the onions, thyme and some seasoning. Cover and cook gently for 20 mins until the onions are softened but not coloured. Remove the lid, turn up 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. Reheat the onion pan, stir in the flour and cook for 1 min. 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.
Try

CHOOSING YOUR MEAT

If you can, pick a flatter piece of meat rather than a taller, rounder one of the same weight. This will cook in less time, as the heat has less distance to travel, and more of the meat will be sitting in the cooking liquid for more of the time. If you're scaling up the recipe to serve more than four, or you have a rounder cut of meat, the roast may take 3 hours.

PER SERVING

487 kcalories, protein 6g, carbohydrate 19g, fat 17 g, saturated fat 5g, fibre 5g, sugar 15g, salt 1 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, February 2013.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • Binder photo Caren

    27 February 2013

    Caren commented on this recipe

    Used a joint of braising steak and it fell apart, was really tasty and went well with the cheesy mash, I left out the mustard as young son not keen but all plates were cleaned and got a thumbs up off everyone. Will be doing this one again soon.

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  • Binder photo Yummers

    09 March 2013

    Yummers rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made this for my Mum and Dad, it was absolutely super! The meat was beautifully tender and everything had the richly mingled flavours you hope for in a one pot. I served it with all the extras suggested in the magazine and they all complimented each other beautifully. I was a little ambitious with the size of pot, but it really didn't matter! Definitely worth a try.

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  • Binder photo Mo

    12 March 2013

    Mo rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Tried and tested. Made this for Sunday dinner using slow cooker. Meat melted in your mouth. Lovely flavours. very easy to make

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  • Binder photo cassandra

    17 March 2013

    cassandra commented on this recipe

    Wow! This was absolutely delicious. I used a silverside joint and the only change I made to the recipe was to use chopped fennel instead of celery. The meat was really tender and we loved the onion gravy. Will definitely be having this again.

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  • Binder photo cassandra

    17 March 2013

    cassandra rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Oh dear- forgot to rate it. Definitely 5 stars.

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  • Binder photo Carol362636

    19 March 2013

    Carol362636 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Very good. My carrots were completely submerged and were fine. Be aware making the frays takes a while - about 45 mins so factor that in as you need to cook the onions off before the meat done and then it's another 15 mins when the beef out.

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  • Binder photo Charlie

    21 March 2013

    Charlie commented on this recipe

    Hi Mo - I would really like to try this in the slow cooker, can you tell me how long you cooked it for? Thanks

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  • Binder photo shonar0612

    28 March 2013

    shonar0612 commented on this recipe

    Tried this on Sunday and it is absolutely delicious we actually used a 2kg silverside and cooked for 30-45 minutes longer and it was very tender. Didn't fall off but it wasn't chewy in the slightest - perfect. Can't wait to try again

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  • Binder photo foxy82

    02 April 2013

    foxy82 rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Sue

    14 April 2013

    Sue rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made tbis last night for friends. It was absolutely beautiful and full of flavour. Provided generous portions. I prepared and cooked it in the afternoon, the popped the meat and carrots wrapped in foil in the oven whilst eating starters and then finished the gravy just before serving, meaning i could relax with our guests. I also made the cheesy mash which I also prepared ahead and then topped with the cheese and popped in the oven whilst eating starters. Fab !!

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  • Binder photo Annie

    14 April 2013

    Annie rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made this several times, good alternative to traditional Sunday roast

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  • Binder photo Vollen

    19 April 2013

    Vollen rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I made this tonight and it was very dry - nice flavour ( I used silverside) . The only thing I forgot to do was season the beef before browning - wonder what I did wrong ??

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  • Binder photo gsymoo

    11 May 2013

    gsymoo rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Fantastic dish! full of flavour. When it tastes this good, I don't think I'll roast beef the usual way again.

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 15 mins

Cook time

Cook 2 hrs 15 mins

Freezable

Super healthy

Ingredients

  • 1kg silverside or topside of beef , with no added fat (see tip, below)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 8 young carrots , tops trimmed (but leave a little, if you like)
  • 1 celery stick, finely chopped
  • 200ml white wine
  • 600ml rich beef stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 500g onions
  • a few thyme sprigs
  • 1 tsp butter
  • 1 tsp light brown or light muscovado sugar
  • 2 tsp plain flour
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PER SERVING

487 kcalories, protein 6g, carbohydrate 19g, fat 17 g, saturated fat 5g, fibre 5g, sugar 15g, salt 1 g

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