Recipe of the week: Roast Scotch Beef with red wine jus

For a show-stopping Christmas main, this sensational topside of beef is perfectly partnered with a red wine reduction – and is simpler to whip up than you might think!

Ingredients

1.5kg topside of Scotch Beef PGI

2 tbsp clear honey

Small bunch fresh thyme

Pinch sea salt and black pepper

500ml dry red wine

2 tsp Scottish rapeseed oil

2 small shallots, peeled and finely chopped

300ml reduced-salt beef stock

2 tbsp redcurrant jelly

Method

Remove the beef from the fridge one hour before cooking. Wash, pat dry and place on a chopping board. Trim away some of the fat, leaving a thin layer on top.

Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan oven/gas 7 and transfer the meat to a small roasting tin.

Put half the honey into a small bowl. Strip the leaves from a few stalks of thyme to make up one teaspoonful. Mix into the honey along with a pinch of salt and a quarter teaspoon of ground black pepper. Mix well and spread all over the top of the beef.

Pour half the wine into the roasting tin (not over the beef) and bake for 30 minutes. Spoon the cooking juices over the beef, reduce the oven temperature to 180C/160C fan oven/gas 4, and put the beef back into the oven for about 35 minutes for medium rare (55C on a meat thermometer). If you prefer your beef thoroughly cooked (70C internal temperature), cook for 10 to 15 minutes longer.

While the beef is cooking, heat the oil in a saucepan and gently fry the shallots for six to seven minutes until softened. Leave to the side.

Remove the beef from the roasting tin, reserving the pan juices, and place onto a carving board. Cover with foil and leave to rest in a warm place.

Remove any fat from the pan juices and add to the saucepan with the shallots. Add the remaining honey and wine, then add the stock and jelly. Heat gently, stirring until the jelly dissolves, then raise the heat and boil rapidly for 10 to 15 minutes until reduced by half (approximately 300ml) and slightly syrupy. The time it takes to reduce down will depend on the size of saucepan you use.

Strain the mixture through a sieve, cover and keep warm.

If you prefer a thicker sauce, blend one teaspoon of cornflour with two teaspoons of cold water and whisk into the hot, reduced liquid. Cook, stirring until the mixture boils, then simmer for one minute until lightly thickened.

To serve, carve the meat and pour over a little of the red wine jus. Serve with freshly cooked vegetables and Yorkshire puddings.

• For more recipes go to www.makeitscotch.com

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