A spectacular and delicious joint to serve to friends and family. Try and choose a piece of beef with a good marbling of fat as this will make the beef more juicy and flavoursome. Always try and buy your beef from a responsible source. Don't spend too much money on the red wine for this recipe!

Method

For the beef

Preheat the oven to 170°C.
Scatter the chopped carrot and onion over the bottom of the roasting tray with any beef trimmings. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Rub this in well. Place the beef on top of the vegetables and cook in the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes. Pour in 600ml of the water and continue to cook for 1.5 hours. Remove from the oven, leave to stand for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
Add the remaining water and scrape off the caramelised juices from the bottom of the pan and pass through a fine chinoise, into a saucepan and reduce by half.

For the celeriac purée

Cover the celeriac with water and add 1 tsp of salt. Boil until very soft, then strain through a fine sieve. Press with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.
Heat the cream and melt the butter. The ingredients are best combined whilst they are still warm. Put the cream, butter and celeriac in a blender and puree until completely smooth. Season to taste. Reserve, keeping warm.

Method for the sauce

On a medium heat, soften the shallots in the butter for 2-3 minutes, add the mushrooms and soften for a further two minutes. Pour in the red wine and reduce by half. Add the stock, reserved pan juices and continue to reduce by half again. Taste, correct the seasoning if required, and infuse the tarragon for five minutes.(*2).

To serve:

Carve the beef on the table in front of your guests and serve with the red wine sauce and the warm celeriac purée.

Chef’s Notes (*1):
*1 Choose a rich, full-bodied wine, but don't spend more than about £5
*2 A pinch of sugar may be required, depending on the wine.

Ingredients

For the beef

1 x 3 bone Rib of Aberdeen Angus Beef
(approx 3kg)
1 Carrot, roughly chopped
1 Onion, peeled and roughly chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
800ml Water

For the celeriac puree:
2 med Celeriac heads, washed, peeled & roughly chopped
150ml whipping cream
50g Unsalted butter

For the red wine sauce:
30g Butter, unsalted
2 Shallots, finely sliced
100g Button mushrooms, finely sliced
250ml Red wine (*1)
350ml Brown chicken stock

1 Tarragon leaf