Rick Stein adds 2 ingredients to roast beef for delicious results that are never dry

A perfectly cooked joint of roast beef is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, but oftentimes, it turns out dry and disappointing.

With the right , keeping the meat tender and juicy is easy, and British chef Rick Stein has shared a worthy contender.

This roast beef dish is a welcome change from formulas, made with a rich red wine sauce and complimented by bacon lardons and an unlikely fruit.

Sharing the dish in his Series Rick Stein: From Venice to Istanbul, the Cornwall-based chef described it as a “pot-roasted” delight.

He noted: “The key is the balance of sweet from the fruit, in this case prunes, and the red wine and balsamic vinegar.”

Rick Stein’s roast beef recipe

Ingredients

• 1.5–2kg silverside beef joint
• Four garlic cloves, sliced lengthways
• 50g smoked bacon lardons
• Four tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 125ml olive oil
• Three medium onions, quartered
• Three sticks of celery, sliced
• Three carrots, sliced
• 750ml red wine
• Two apples, peeled, cut into eighths
• Eight prunes
• Three tomatoes, chopped
• One tsp sugar
• One thyme sprig
• Two bay leaves
• One small sprig of rosemary
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

The ingredients aren’t as concise as in a standard roast beef , but the rich and fruity sauce that accompanies the meat is worthwhile.

Preparing the beef correctly is essential to ensure the flavours seep into the joint, so start by piercing the silverside beef with the point of a sharp knife.

Next, insert the garlic slivers and bacon lardons into the slits, then move the beef to a large baking dish.

Pour the vinegar over it, cover it, and marinate for an hour or two in the fridge. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 160C/140C Fan/Gas 3. Season the meat with salt and pepper when the beef is ready to be cooked.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of the measured olive oil in a flameproof lidded casserole pan over high heat, then add the beef and brown it all over.

Pour the remaining olive oil into the dish, then add the onions, celery, carrots and red wine. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover the pan with a lid, transfer to the oven, and cook for about one hour.

Remove the dish from the oven and add the chopped apples, prunes, tomatoes, sugar, and herbs, plus a little water if it looks dry.

Return the beef to the oven to cook for an hour with the lid on or until the meat and vegetables are tender.

Remove the meat, vegetables and fruit from the sauce and keep them warm until ready to serve. Heat the sauce to thicken it up and reduce the volume, if necessary. Taste and check the seasoning one last time and adjust as necessary.

Carve the meat into 1cm thick slices and serve with the sauce. Rick recommends serving this with gnocchi, but you can try mashed potato or roasties if you prefer.