Roast beef requires minimal time and effort to prepare and little tending while it cooks. A roast lets you enjoy more time with friends and family and it is perfect for entertaining. It is so easy to prepare, just season the meat and roast in the oven. You can serve it with a side dish of potatoes (mash or roasted), salad, or vegetables. My mother used to serve spaghetti with roast beef gravy (use some extra beef stock if not enough gravy from the roast beef , thicken with corn starch) , small pieces of meat, and Parmesan cheese on top … and voila, another meal. You can also prepare a sandwich with pesto, cheese, onions and tomatoes. Roast beef can be served warm or at room temperature.
My mother used to prepare this dish on the stove. The preparation is exactly the same with only the addition of two tablespoons of butter that are added to the pot where the roast will be browned. If you want to cook it on the stove, follow the same instructions shown below after browning the meat on all sides. I decided to change my cooking method for convenience, in the oven is less messy.
For those of you who like to pair the meat with a good wine; let me tell you, roast beef is an easy dish to match wine with. You can drink any medium to full bodied red that you enjoy. Something worth keeping in mind, rare beef suits young, full bodied reds while older, more delicate reds are sometimes better with beef that’s cooked a little longer. Some wine suggestions are Bordeaux or other Cabernet/Merlot or Malbec blend, or a shiraz.
- 2.5 lb eye round roast
- 3 medium sized garlic cloves
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper flakes
- 6 fresh medium sage leaves
- ¾ tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup of hot water
- ¼ cup of wine
- Preheat oven to 330 F.
- Remove any excess fat from meat (leave some for flavor), rinse and pat dry. With a paring knife, cut deep slits in the beef roast, spacing them evenly over it.
- In a mortar combine the garlic and salt until it forms a paste.
- Rinse and chop the fresh herbs.
- Add the herbs to the garlic paste and mix well (in the mortar).
- Using your fingers make the slits in the meat wider and bury into them a sliver of the garlic mix. If there is any leftover garlic mix rub over the top and sides of the roast.
- Move the meat to a roasting pan or an oven ready pot with tall sides.
- Rub the meat with the olive oil, Insert a thermometer and set aside for half an hour.
- Place in the oven and roast until meat thermometer registers 110 ˚F.
- Pour wine and water on the meat and roast again until the thermometer registers 125 °F for medium rare. Remember that the temperature of the roast will rise during standing.
- Approximate cooking time will be from 1½ to 2 hours.
- Remove from oven, cover roast with foil; let it stand for 10 minutes before carving.
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