Simple roast beef

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 kg roast beef
• 1 large onion(s)
• 1 large carrot(s)
• 1 m.-large gherkin(s)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 tbsp sour cream
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• e.g. milk
• some salt and pepper
• 250 ml water

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 3 hours; Total time approx. 3 hours 30 minutes

Peel the onions and dice them into small cubes. Peel the carrot and cut them into pieces about 3 cm in size. Quarter the gherkin lengthwise. Season the meat all over with salt and pepper. Mix the sour cream, mustard, and cornstarch until smooth. Add a little milk if necessary to make it easier to stir into the sauce at the end. Now comes the most important step for a rich, dark sauce. First, brown the meat on all sides at a high temperature so that hardly any juices run out at first. Then turn down the heat and continue browning each side for about 15 minutes to bring out as many roasted flavors as possible. You can also add a little water (max. 2 cl) if it should start to smoke slightly. Then remove the roast and let it cool slightly. Brown the onions in a pan or roasting pan, then add the carrot and then the gherkin. I usually add a pinch of sugar or honey to the onions. Once everything is golden brown, add the tomato paste and fry briefly to remove the acid. Now pour in around 250 ml of water to loosen the juices. Bring the stock to a boil briefly. In the meantime, cut the roast into pieces, ideally on a plate or board with a juice groove. Add the meat juices to the sauce for even more flavor. Add the pieces of meat to the pan or roasting tin and pour on enough water to cover them. Then season with salt and pepper. Simmer over low heat until the meat is tender enough. Check it every now and then and add more water if necessary. After 2 hours, pierce the meat with a knife to see if the meat is tender enough. If the meat is tender enough, season the sauce with salt and pepper. Then remove the meat and pour the sauce through a sieve, remove the carrot pieces and pass the rest through the sieve with a spoon. Finally, add the sour cream mixture to the sauce. Be careful not to let it boil, or only boil it briefly, as otherwise it could curdle or even lose its flavor. The sauce should now be slightly thickened by the straining and the addition of the sour cream.