Ingredients
- 1.4 kg beef silverside
- 3 Tbsp cooking oil (it doesn’t have to be olive, I am cutting back because of the ridiculous prices)
- 2 large onions, roughly chopped
- 5 carrots, peeled and sliced thickly
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 2 large leeks, sliced
- 3 Tbsp cornflour
- 200 ml dry white wine
- 1.5 litres good beef stock (I used Nomu liquid stock, diluted to the packet ratios)
- 3 bay leaves
- 4 thyme sprigs
- Salt and black pepper (be generous)
- For the sauce:
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil
- 3 large onions, sliced
- The reduced cooking stock, strained
- 2 thyme sprigs
- Salt and black pepper to taste if needed (taste it first, there was salt and pepper in the pot so it might not need more)
Method
- Season the beef all over with salt. You can do this an hour ahead, and also make sure the joint is not fridge-cold when you start cooking.
- Preheat the oven to 200℃.
- Heat the oil in a big, heavy pot (Dutch oven) and brown the beef well on all sides on a moderate heat (not too low though or the meat will bleed). There’s no need to rush this, it should take about 10 minutes to be well browned. Remove the beef to a plate.
- Add a little more oil, heat, and cook the onions for two or three minutes, stirring. Add the carrots, celery and leeks, and continue cooking and stirring for about five minutes.
- Sprinkle the cornflour over and stir it in.
- Add the white wine and cook, stirring now and then, until it has reduced by half.
- Add the beef stock, bay leaves and thyme, and season. Give it a stir. Bring it to a boil, and turn the heat off. Put the beef back in the pot and put the lid on.
- Put it in the 200℃ oven. After 15 minutes, turn the heat down to 170℃ or 180℃ (or start at 170℃ and turn up to 180℃ later) and cook for about two hours or until the beef is tender. Being silverside, it will not be as tender as a perfect medium rare steak, but the texture was very pleasant and the flavour great.
- Best of all is the onion gravy that goes with it. For this, first spoon off any fat from the pot (there shouldn’t be a lot).
- Pour the stock into a large jug or bowl, through a sieve or colander. Keep the remaining vegetables to serve with the beef. They will be a bit mushy but they’ll taste great and it would be silly to waste them.
- Slice the three onions. Heat 2 Tbsp cooking oil in a suitable heavy pan and cook the onions gently, with the thyme sprigs, for about 15 minutes, to develop their sweet allium flavours. Remove the thyme.
- Add the strained cooking stock and reduce until you have plenty of good, well flavoured sauce. Taste as you go and stop cooking when it tastes wonderful.
- Serve slices of your beef pot roast with a generous quantity of that lovely onion sauce and the vegetables from the pot alongside. I’d recommend mashed potato as the perfect accompaniment.
Source: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-05-30-throwback-thursday-beef-silverside-pot-roast-with-rich-onion-gravy/
