Svickova Beef Sirloin in Root Vegetable Cream Sauce

What you need

• 1 kg (2 lb) beef sirloin, in one piece
• 100 g (3.5 oz) fat bacon, cut into strips
• 2 tbsp lard
• 3 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 carrots, medium, peeled
• 2 parsley roots, peeled
• 200 g (7 oz) celeriac, peeled
• 2 onions, medium
• 1 apple, peeled
• 60 g (4 tbsp) butter, divided: 30 g for the vegetables, 30 g for the roux
• 40 g (3 tbsp) granulated sugar
• 50 ml (3 tbsp) white vinegar
• 4 bay leaves
• 8 allspice berries
• 8 peppercorns
• 25 g (3 tbsp) all-purpose flour
• 150 ml (2/3 cup) heavy cream
• 1 lemon, juice of half, the rest cut into slices
• 12 slice bread dumplings, cooked, to serve
• whipped cream, to serve
• 2 tbsp cranberry sauce, to serve

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Cut the fat bacon into strips about 1 cm (1/2 in) thick and 10 cm (4 in) long. Freeze for 30 min until firm.

2. 2

   Make deep slits along the grain of the beef with a long thin knife. Push a strip of fat bacon into each slit.

3. 3

   Rub the beef with 2 tsp of the salt and the ground black pepper. Tie it with kitchen twine so it keeps its shape.

4. 4

   Dice the carrots, parsley roots and celeriac into 1 cm (1/2 in) cubes. Roughly chop the onions and dice the apple.

5. 5

   Melt the lard in a heavy pot over high heat. Sear the beef 2-3 min per side until browned all over, then set it aside.

6. 6

   Lower the heat to medium and melt 30 g (1 oz) of the butter in the same pot. Add the carrots, parsley roots and celeriac and cook until lightly golden, about 5 min.

7. 7

   Add the onions and apple and cook, stirring, for another 5 min.

8. 8

   Sprinkle over the sugar and stir until it melts into a light caramel, 1-2 min. Pour in the vinegar and boil until it has almost gone.

9. 9

   Put the beef back in the pot. Add the bay leaves, allspice berries, peppercorns, the remaining 1 tsp of salt and enough hot water to come almost to the top of the meat.

10. 10

    Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on the lowest heat until the beef is fork-tender, 1 1/2-2 hours. Turn the meat once halfway.

11. 11

    Lift out the beef and keep it warm under foil. Fish out the bay leaves, allspice berries and peppercorns, and discard about a quarter of the vegetables.

12. 12

    Melt the remaining 30 g (1 oz) of butter in a small pan, stir in the flour and cook until pale gold, about 2 min.

13. 13

    Whisk the flour paste into the sauce and simmer for 15 min, stirring now and then, until thickened and smooth in flavor.

14. 14

    Take the pot off the heat and stir in the cream. Blend with an immersion blender, then pass through a sieve. Season with the juice of half the lemon and more salt if needed.

15. 15

    Slice the beef 1 cm (1/2 in) thick. Serve with the dumplings and plenty of sauce, topped with a lemon slice, a spoonful of whipped cream and 1 tsp of cranberry sauce.

Imported from cooklikeczechs.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.