At the end of a busy week, there’s something that feels extra special about taking the time to sit together with your nearest and dearest to share a comforting, delicious meal.
It’s an opportunity to chat about the week that was, what’s to come and share a crispy roast spud or two.
Alexandra Parr, Performance Dietician for the Richmond Football Club's AFL/AFLW teams, shares her healthy recipe for roast beef with honey potatoes and Mediterranean roast veg – perfect for the whole family.
This recipe serves: 6-8
Cooking and prep time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Roast topside beef recipe
Ingredients
1.5kg topside beef
Extra virgin olive oil
Thyme
Rosemary
Salt and pepper
Method
Let the beef rest at room temperature for about 1 hour before roasting. Start prepping and roasting the potatoes while you wait.
Preheat the oven to 220°C fan-forced.
Place the beef in a roasting dish. Rub the oil, herbs, salt and pepper over the beef.
Roast the beef for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven to 160°C fan-forced and cook for another 50 minutes. At this point start on the vegetable recipe and when there are 30 minutes left on the timer, you can add these and the potatoes to the oven with the beef.
Once removed from the oven, transfer the beef to a board and cover with loosely with foil to let rest for around 10 minutes or until the meat reaches 65°C if using a temperature probe.
Honey roast potatoes
Ingredients
1kg roasting potatoes (sebago, desiree or kipfler)
Cobram Estate garlic infused extra virgin olive oil
1 sprig rosemary
Honey
Fresh oregano
Parmesan
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan-forced.
Boil the potatoes in salted water for 15 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork. Drain and return to the pot. Covering the pot with its lid, give the pot a shake to rough up the potato edges a little. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile add the rosemary and oregano to the oil in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
Pour the oil into your chosen baking dish to cover the base with a thin layer. Place this in the oven for 10 minutes to warm the oil.
Carefully take out the dish and gently add the potatoes, being cautious to not let any oil splash up from the dish. Cover the potatoes in the oil and roast for around 1 hour (or until crispy and golden), tossing the potatoes every 20 minutes.
At the 40 minute-mark toss, add the herby oil mix for the final 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and set aside. Now time to continue the beef recipe.
Mediterranean roast vegetables
Ingredients
2 medium zucchini
1 eggplant
1 red capsicum
1 shallot
Generous drizzle of Cobram Estate garlic infused olive oil
Dried oregano
20g block of goats cheese
Salt and pepper
Method
With the oven already set to 160°C for the beef, line a baking tray with baking paper.
Dice all the vegetables up and toss through the extra virgin olive oil, herbs and seasoning.
Lay the vegetables out flat on the baking tray and bake for the last 30 minutes of the beef timer, or until tender and caramelised.
Serving the roast
Slice the beef and serve with gravy (optional). You can make your own using the pan juices from the roast.
Once the potatoes are lightly golden and crunchy, transfer to your serving dish and top with a drizzle of honey, a good pinch of salt and fine grating of parmesan cheese to serve.
Transfer the Mediterranean veg to a serving dish and optional addition to mix through the goats cheese for creaminess.
Looking for more delicious, healthy recipes? We’ve partnered with nutritionists and dietiticians to create an exclusive range of meal ideas. Check out our dedicated recipe page for more.
Please note: The tips throughout this article serve as broad information and should not replace any advice you have been given by your medical practitioner.