I'm Downton for Some Roast Beef

Who doesn't love Downton Abbey and it's major historical leaps from the Titanic sinking, to World War One, and then finally arriving in the 1920s? For most of the aristocracy things were changing massively, especially when it came to keeping household staff to look after large houses in the countryside. Better opportunities with progression and pay could be found elsewhere in the towns and cities, so working in a fancy house no longer had the same appeal it once did. 

That being said the diet and preferred meals of the aristocracy changed very little from the Edwardian era. While younger people often enjoyed the new flavours and ingredients from Europe and the USA, the older generation were still sticking to familiar dishes and of course, the classic British meal, of roast beef and two veg never lost its appeal. I tarted it up a bit by making a red wine and shallot gravy, but all things considered this is fairly simple fare. Not in terms of cost, a good piece of beef will always be expensive, but I boiled the veg instead of steaming or roasting as I usually would, and when it comes down to it there's very little ostentatious or really difficult about the dish.

Also, while doing my research, I found this fantastic resource on Cookipedia that helps you cook any meat to perfection. I can't be the only one who finds that the instructions on any meat joint always leads to overcooked, dry rubbish! The Meat Cooking Calculator can also work out the time frame for when you want the joint to be ready by. 

Roast Beef, Potatoes, Parsnips and Cabbage

Ingredients

• Beef Joint (mine was 1.7kg) 
• 5 Potatoes, halved
• 3 Parsnips
• 1 tsp Brown Sugar
• 1/2 a cabbage, chopped.
• 400ml Red wine
• 400ml Stock (Beef or Chicken)
• 250g Shallots
• 5 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 Garlic Clove
• 1 Sprig of Rosemary
• Olive oil

Method

1. Cook the beef joint as directed by Cookipedia. I highly recommend the advice of lining the pan with onions and coating the beef in mustard, flour, salt and pepper. I added some leftover herbs I had to the bottom of the baking tray, including sage, rosemary and parsley. It made for a really delicious sauce underneath too, so don't skip this step.
2. Add the potatoes and parsnips to another baking tray, drizzle olive oil over the veg, salt and pepper, then sprinkle the brown sugar over the parsnips. When the beef will be ready in 30 minutes add the vegetables to the oven.
3. Sauté 250g sliced shallots in a medium saucepan with 4 tbsp olive oil over a high heat for about 3 mins until lightly browned, stirring often. Season with ground black pepper and add the crushed garlic clove and sprig of rosemary.
4. Pour in 5 tbsp balsamic vinegar and cook until evaporated away to a syrup, then pour in 400ml red wine and cook until reduced by two thirds. Then pour in the stock and bring to the boil.
Turn down the heat and simmer until reduced by two-thirds again, to around 250ml. Remove the garlic and rosemary.
5. Heat a pan of water over a medium heat, add a pinch of salt, and boil the cabbage for ten minutes.
6. Serve with mustard and horseradish sauce.