Roast Beef with Mustard, Garlic and Herb Butter and Rosemary Chips

I absolutely love red meat. I love a really tender steak cooked and prefer it medium - not too well done, and not raw in the centre.

There is a fantastic pub near us which serves the best steak, I cannot resist ordering it whenever we are there, although then I feel guilty, like I should be trying something different because I am sure the other meals are just as good. But I really cannot go past a good steak.

I also therefore love roast beef.

I love really tender beef, so tend to buy fillet steak. But New York Sirloin and Porterhouse are generally very good also.

In this recipe, the beef is roasted with a flavoured butter which seeps into the beef and makes it wonderfully moist and tasty.

These rosemary chips are fast becoming one of my favourites. Apart from tasting fantastic, while cooking they fill our apartment with a delicious aroma.

In terms of timing, the butter can be made in advance. I also chopped the rosemary a few hours before my guests arrived.

Ingredients

Butter

1/2 teaspoon fenugreek

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon green peppercorn

2 cloves garlic

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 tablespoons parsley

1 tablespoon parsley

1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

75g butter softened

Small splash lemon juice

Method

Use a mortar and pestle to crush the mustard seeds and green peppercorn. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined. Place on plastic wrap and mould into a log shape. Refrigerate until needed

Beef

900g beef fillet

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Sear the beef in a hot pan until browned on all sides. Place on a rack in a roasting tray. Slice the butter into 5 pieces and place on top of the beef. Place in the oven and roast for 40-45 minutes for medium, or until cooked to your liking. Remove from the oven, cover lightly with foil and rest before serving.

Rosemary chips

Ingredients

5-6 potatoes depending on size (I use coliban potatoes, washed but unpeeled)

4 sprigs rosemary leaves removed and finely chopped

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

Method

Cut the potato into chip shaped pieces. They should be about 1/2 cm thick (remember they will cook faster if they are thinner). Sprinkle with rosemary, salt and oil and toss to combine.

Place on a baking tray (you may need two trays) lined with baking paper. Cook with beef for about 1 hour. Once you take the beef out of the oven, turn the heat up to 200 degrees. Keep an eye on them and cook for less or more time as required.

Serve with the roast beef.

P.S I cannot fix the formatting on this one! Sorry it is all squashed up.