My little autumn cooking project will be to master all kinds of roasts and casseroles, ans it is so much fun.

We had this for supper last Saturday and it was lovely. If we have steak I prefer mine blue, basically just turned in a hot pan, but I prefer a roast rare, as topside needs longer to cook. And this was cooked to perfection with my references. It was a little bloody, proper red meat and still tender and juicy.

I served it with bèarnaise sauce, which I love and the recipe below is both easy and makes the perfectly balanced sauce. In restaurants you often get a terrible vinegary runny sauce, and this it is counterpart. The sauce is thick and velvety, has enough vinegar to not be buttery, but not so much that it takes over. I’m salivating just thinking about it…

Further, I served potato wedges and purple sprouting with the meal and red wine is almost compulsory.

Roast topside of beef, serves 4

600-800 g topside of beef

salt, black pepper

butter and oil for frying

Trim the meat and pat it with plenty of salt and pepper. Brown it in a hot frying pan in the butter and oil until nice and brown on all sides. Place in an oven dish or put the pan (no plastic handles) straight in the oven. Place a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the meat. Place it in a 150C oven for about 20 minutes or until the inner temperature is 43C. Remove the meat from the dish/frying pan and cover wuth tin foil. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes before serving in slices.

Bèarnaise sauce 2.0, serves 2-4

2,5 tbsp white wine vinegar

1,75 tsp dried tarragon

2 tbsp water

3 egg yolks

150 g butter cold or at room temperature, cut into small cubes

Add the vinegar and tarragon to a nonstick saucepan. Reduce on high heat while stirring and the fan on full until most of the liquid has evaporated. Make sure not to burn the herbs. Remove from heat and add the water. Add the egg yolks and stir. Place the pan on low heat and stir until it starts to thicken slightly, add a butter cube and while stirring, watch it melt. Add another and repeat. Remember to stir/whisk all the time. After a few cubes you can a few at the time. Repeat until all the butter has melted. Let it thicken some more if needed, and remember that it will keep cooking even when you remove the pan from the heat. Season with salt and white pepper if needed. Pour into a cold sauce bowl straight away and serve.