Roasted rib of beef with a horseradish mustard and thyme crust.

Serves 8
20 mins prep; 2½ hrs roast plus resting

Ingredients:

• Splash of olive oil
• Leaves from bunch of fresh thyme
• 3 large cloves of garlic
• 8 banana shallots, peeled
• 3 celery sticks, roughly chopped
• 3 carrots, roughly chopped
• Rib of beef (3 ribs are around 3.5kg)
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp horseradish sauce
• 2 springs of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 100g fresh breadcrumbs
• 300ml full bodied red wine
• 500ml beef stock
• 1 tsp redcurrant jelly
• Good splash of port or madeira (optional)

Method:

1. Remove the beef from the fridge 1 hour before cooking.
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180°C fan / Gas 6.
3. Place the beef in a roasting tin on top of the olive oil, half the thyme, garlic, shallots, celery and carrots.
4. Mix 1 tbsp of Dijon mustard with the horseradish, rosemary, remaining thyme and breadcrumbs together
5. Brush 1 tbsp of Dijon mustard over the beef fat, then press the breadcrumb mix onto it to create the crust.
6. Drizzle with oil, cover with foil and roast for 20 minutes.
7. Reduce the heat to 160°C / 140°C fan / Gas 3 and add half the wine and a splash of water to the tin.  Roast for 1 hour 20 minutes – 1 hours 30 minutes adding more water occasionally.
8. Remove the foil and roast for a further 20 minutes to brown the crust.
9. Test with a probe 60°C for medium, 50°C – 55°C for rare.
10. Remove from the oven, place on a warm serving dish / plate with the shallots, cover and allow to rest.
11. Place the roasting tin on the hob, add the remaining wine and heat for a few minutes to get all the flavour from the vegetables and the bits from the bottom of the pan.  Add the stock, redcurrant jelly and optional port or madeira, bubble for a further 5 – 10 minutes.  Reduce the heat, skim off the excess fat before straining into a sauce jug.
12. Carve the beef and serve with the sauce and your chosen vegetables.