Rolled stuffed roast beef

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Make a rectangle of the meat approximately 30 x 25 cm and place on a piece of baking parchment bigger than this. To do this, cut the meat into slices around 2 cm thick. Trim away any obvious tough white sinew. Bash the meat out under cling film (plastic wrap) with a meat tenderiser or the flat of a small saucepan to a thickness of around 7 mm. Lay the pieces down on the parchment to make up the rectangle, overlapping them a little as necessary to form a barrier to prevent the stuffing from escaping. Season with salt and pepper. Lay the cling film over the meat again and give it a gentle bash to secure the pieces together. Discard the cling film.
2. First lay on the slices of cooked ham – they will help to keep your stuffing in place. Now layer on the rest of the stuffing ingredients, leaving a border of 2.5 cm clear at one long edge. Season once more. Roll up the beef tightly starting at the long edge without the border. Secure it with string. Using your hands, slather the meat with the butter. Put the roll into a roasting tray and bake for 5 minutes. Pour over the wine and bake again for 10 minutes. Pour the tomato sauce, stock, peas and any leftover stuffing that didn’t make it inside around the roll. Tuck some rosemary sprigs and oregano, if you have some, into the string and scatter over the fennel seeds.
3. Cook in the oven for 30–40 minutes or until cooked through. The middle should reach 60°C using a probe thermometer, or a skewer inserted into the middle should be hot when you touch the end. Remove from the oven and serve with mashed potatoes, buttery soft polenta or brown rice and the Purple Sprouting Broccoli.