It's time for a bona fide classic, the way Nan used to make! And we admit: Beef roast isn't exactly Tom Cruise on a plate. It's actually rather ugly - but tastes brilliant! The beef roast needs a good while in the oven, so start early - and make the recipe during holidays or weekends. But from here, the rest is dead easy. Remember to save half of the cooked roast for pulled beef in pitas tomorrow.

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees convection.

2. Sear the roast on a pan with some olive oil, until browned on all sides. Give it a round of salt and pepper.

3. Now pop the roast into a baking tray, along with peeled onion and roughly chopped garlic. Pour water into the bottom, along with thyme. Now let the roast simmer in the oven for about 2.5 hours (the longer it gets, the more tender it gets). It's important that there always be at least a centimetre of water in the bottom, so the roast doesn't dry out. Put your feet up, and after a couple of hours, you can start prepping the rest.

4. Cook the potatoes in salted water until tender. Peel the carrots and cut into sticks. Boil beans and carrots until tender, but by no means cooked out - for about 10 minutes.

5. Once the roast is done, pour the juices from the baking tray into a pot. We suggest cutting a little piece off the end, to taste if the roast is tender. Bring the juices to the boil and add crumbled stock cube. Add single cream and season with salt and pepper. If the gravy is too thin, thicken it with a bit of corn flour stirred into a mug of water.

6. Serve the yummy roast with spuds, gravy and veggies. Yum, welcome to the good old days - and enjoy!

Tip

Tasks for kids in the kitchen: Let your kids help scrub the potatoes, peel the carrots and stir the gravy.