Christmas Day Blogging

Roast Beef Marinated in Red Wine


before the topside of beef goes in the oven

Ingredients (serves 6)
2kg beef scotch (rib-eye) fillet
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups red wine (such as shiraz)
1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 red onions, peeled, thickly sliced
horseradish sauce, to serve

Method
Trim fat and sinew from beef. Tie with cooking string at 2cm intervals to help beef keep its shape during cooking. Rub beef with pepper.

Combine wine, mustard, garlic and bay leaves in a deep ceramic dish. Add beef. Turn to coat in marinade. Refrigerate, turning occasionally, for 4 hours or overnight if time permits.

Preheat oven to 200°C. Remove beef from marinade. Pat-dry using paper towels. Heat butter and 1 tablespoon of oil in a non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add beef. Cook, turning, for 5 minutes or until browned. Set aside.

Combine remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Add onions. Toss to coat in oil. Arrange onions in the centre of a lightly greased roasting pan. Place beef on top of onions. Roast for 55 minutes for medium rare, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes for medium and 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 1/2 hours for well done.

Remove from oven. Cover with foil. Stand 15 minutes. Remove string. Slice. Serve with onions and horseradish.