At the age of 18 I went to study English in Canterbury. All my meals were in the school’s “cellar” and there was never a single food that I liked. I lived on apples and Cadbury chocolates.
Fortunately, the mother of my host family cooked very well. When I ate meals with that family, only Saturdays and Sundays, I ate like a longshoreman!
One of the most common dishes was roast beef.
Roast beef was served lukewarm with gravy and accompanied by roast potatoes and magnificent Yorkshire puddings. I loved it!
Obviously, I don’t remember how she prepared it. However, I reinterpreted a Jamie Oliver recipe which produces a result that closely resembles my memories.

Roast beef

  • Preparation time: 60 minutes
  • Ingredients for 4-6 servings
  • Difficulty: Easy recipe

  • Ingredients
  • 1 lb. 8 oz (700 grams) of sirloin beef
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 sprig of rosemary
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 onion
  • 1 small carrot
  • 1 celery
  • Extra virgin olive oil to taste
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 knob of butter
  • 1 level teaspoon of cornstarch
  • 1 glass of broth
  1. Instructions
  2. Leave the meat at room temperature for at least two hours before cooking.
  3. Wash the onion, carrot, and celery very well.
  4. Turn on the oven at 400 ° F.
  5. Tie the meat with string. Massage it with oil, salt it, and flavor it with pepper.
  6. Cut the onion into large wedges without removing the peel, then the carrot and celery into slices.
  7. In a pan with oil, sauté the sirloin until it browns on all sides.
  8. Temporarily remove the meat and add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic. Cook over high heat until they brown well.
  9. Off the heat, add the rosemary and bay leaf. Put the vegetables in the pan and put the meat on a grill above the pan.
  10. Bake in the oven until it reaches the core temperature of 122-131 °F.
  11. Remove the meat from the pan and let it rest, covered, for fifteen minutes. Then cut it into very thin slices.
  12. In the meantime, add a knob of butter, cornstarch, and broth to the vegetables, having first removed the aromas (garlic, rosemary, and bay leaves).  Cook for the time the meat rests.
    Pass everything through a fine mesh sieve.
  13. Season with salt if necessary and serve the sauce hot with the roast beef.

Tips to ensure the success of the dish:

  • The thermometer must be inserted into the heart of the sirloin. When this reaches the temperature of 122-131 °F, it is ready. Resting the meat will continue to cook and redistribute the juices.
  • The cooking time cannot be indicated because it depends both on the weight of the meat and on your oven.
  • The knife must have a good blade to make a proper thin cut.