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The perfect roast could be described as the perfect centrepiece, of the perfect meal, to make it a perfect day. Whether it be a relaxing Sunday or a special holiday, taking the time to properly roast a quality piece of meat and prepare appropriate accompaniments is likely to draw great appreciation from your family.

Whenever I think of roast, I automatically first think of beef. A delicious piece of sirloin, cooked on the bone to perfection, is one of my ideas of culinary heaven. The following recipe idea is for a family of four.

The first thing we of course have to do is get the roast in to the oven. Pre-heat the oven to a very high temperature, about 475 degrees Fahrenheit/240 degrees Celsius/Gas Mark 9. Peel and half two white onions and sit them in the bottom of your roasting tin. We will require a piece of sirloin of about 5lb (bone in) with a decent sized piece of fat still attached. The bone and the fat equate to flavour and can both be discarded after the cooking time. Sit the beef atop the onions and season with black pepper if required.

Put the roast in the oven and after about 15 to 20 minutes, reduce the temperature to around 375 degrees Fahrenheit/190 degrees Celsius/ Gas Mark 5 and cook for a total time of 15 minutes per pound and 15 minutes over. Remember to baste the meat liberally, every 20 minutes or so.

When the beef is ready, remove it from the oven, put it on a large plate and cover it with aluminium foil. Allow it to rest for at least half an hour. This allows the fibres in the meat, which have tightened up during the intense heat of the roasting process, to cool down and relax and the juices to begin flowing.

The stock from the beef, we will use to make our gravy but we require a couple of tablespoons for our roasted potatoes.

Boil the potatoes, cut in to chunks, for ten minutes in salted water. Drain them thoroughly then put them in to a large bowl. Add the two tablespoons of hot stock, a generous pinch of both dried sage and dried thyme and stir carefully and well to ensure all the pieces are evenly coated. Put them on to a baking sheet and in to the oven, pre-heated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit/200 degrees Celsius/Gas Mark 6. Do not wash the bowl at this stage, as when the potatoes have been on for about 25 minutes, you should crush two garlic cloves in to the bowl, take the potatoes from the oven and again stir them in the garlic and stock residue. Return them to the oven for another 5 minutes.

When the potatoes first go on, it is time to prepare our other vegetables. Peel and chop four parsnips. These should be boiled in water for fifteen minutes. Split a large broccoli head in to florets which should be boiled for a maximum of 7 or 8 minutes. When the parsnips are ready, drain them well then add a knob of butter and a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg and carefully stir them around. The broccoli should be drained and served as is.

The gravy should be made by slowly simmering the remaining juices of the beef on the hob while the potatoes are cooking, allowing the mixture to thicken through water evaporation. The onion pieces can be kept or discarded as required and if you require extra thick gravy, simply mix one teaspoon of cornflour with a little cold water and add to the tray.

The meat can now be carved, the vegetables added to the plates and the gravy added to the gravy boat. A delicious, perfect roast is now ready to be served to your family.

Learn more about this author, Gordon Hamilton.
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