Tom Kerridge's treacle-Cured Beef, Roast Potatoes and Yorkshire Puddings Recipe

This recipe is taken from Tom Kerridge's book, Proper Pub Food, £20, published by Absolute Press.

Ingredients

• 200g black treacle
• 100ml water
• 1 middle-cut fillet of beef, about 800g vegetable oil
• 8 Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 500g spinach leaves, washed and spun dry
• 50g butter
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 500ml Red Wine Sauce, to serve

For the red wine sauce

(makes about 900ml):

• 2 litres chicken sauce stock
• 1 bottle red wine
• 150g redcurrant jelly
• 100g frozen blackberries
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 celery sticks, chopped
• Handful of parsley stalks
• Salt and pepper, to taste

For the chicken sauce stock base

(makes about 7.5 litres):

• 1kg chicken wings
• 2 pig's trotters, cut in half lengthways
• 1kg chicken carcass, chopped
• 4 celery sticks, cut in half
• 1 head of garlic, unreeled, but cut in half through the equator
• 1 onion, chopped
• 200g chopped tomatoes
• 10 litres water

For the Yorkshire puddings:

• 450g plain flour
• 750ml milk
• 8 eggs

Method

1. A day ahead, mix the treacle and water together in a large bowl, stirring to dissolve the treacle. Add the beef, cover the bowl with clingfilm and put in the fridge to marinate for 24 hours. The next day, make the Yorkshire pudding batter at least 4 hours before you plan to cook. Put the flour into a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Whisk the milk and eggs together, then slowly whisk them into the flour to form a batter. Do not overmix some lumps are OK. Leave the batter to stand at room temperature for 4 hours

2. To prepare the roast potatoes, preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas Mark 7. While the oven is reaching the correct temperature, bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Add the potatoes, return the water to the boil and blanch them for 8–10 minutes until they are cooked through and tender. Drain them through a colander in the sink and leave to steam-dry for a couple of minutes. Be very careful not to break them up too much

3. Heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in a roasting tray on the hob. Add the potatoes and stir them around so they are thinly coated with oil on every surface. Place the tray in the oven and roast the potatoes for 45 minutes, or until crispy and golden brown. Meanwhile, to finish the Yorkshire puddings, put a small amount of vegetable oil in the base of 8 Yorkshire pudding moulds and put the moulds in the oven while it is heating. When the oven reaches the correct temperature and the oil is very hot, pour in the batter

4. Return the moulds to the oven and bake the Yorkshire puddings for about 25 minutes, until well risen, puffy and golden brown. You can cook the Yorkshire puddings while the potatoes are roasting

5. Remove the potatoes and Yorkshire puddings from the oven and immediately turn the oven temperature down to 60°C/Gas Mark very low (or set to the nearest lowest temperature). Do not cover the roast potatoes with foil or they will lose their crispness

6. Remove the beef from the marinade and pat dry

7. Heat 2–3 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Add the fillet and fry, turning regularly, until browned all over. Place the fillet in a roasting tray

8. When the oven has reached the correct temperature, place the roasting tray in the oven and roast the fillet for 1 hour, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of the fillet reads 55°–58°C

9. As soon as you take the beef out of the oven, turn the oven temperature up to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Cover the beef with foil and leave to one side. As soon as the oven reaches the correct temperature, return the potatoes and Yorkshire puddings and reheat them for 5 minutes.

10. Meanwhile, pour the marinade into a saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and leave the marinade to simmer, uncovered, until it reduces by half

11. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the spinach with just the water clinging to the leaves and stir until it wilts. Season

12. When ready to serve, brush the fillet with the reduced cooking juices, then slice the beef. Spoon a little of the red wine sauce on each plate, then top with the spinach and a slice of beef. Serve immediately with the Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes.