Whole roasted scotch fillet with crispy potatoes

Bring meat out of the fridge an hour before cooking to allow it to come to room temperature. Remove it from its packaging, pat dry with paper towels and then sit it on a plate.

Preheat oven to 220°C. Add onions to a metal roasting tray or dish with olive oil, and then season it with salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Sit garlic, rosemary, thyme and butter on top so that the meat will cover everything except the onions.

Preheat a large frying pan over a high heat. Brush the meat all over with the neutral oil. Then, season it generously with salt and pepper all over.

When pan is very hot, add a splash of oil, swish it around and add the meat. Sear each side until dark brown and crunchy all over.

Transfer to the roasting dish, sitting on top of the herbs and garlic (the onion doesn’t have to be covered by meat).

Transfer to the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 200°C. Roast for 40 minutes if using 1kg or 1 hour if using 1.5kg (for medium-rare).

Prepare potatoes; simmer potatoes in salted water until about three-quarters cooked. Drain well, replace over the heat briefly to steam off excess moisture. Add oils, cover and shake vigorously to rough them up. Arrange on roasting tray, not touching.

Remove from oven and transfer the meat to a warmed plate or wooden board with a gutter to catch the juices. Then, cover it loosely with foil and rest for 15 minutes. Reserve resting juices.

Turn oven up to 210°C and roast potatoes for 15-20 minutes without touching.

To make gravy, skim any fat from the surface of the roasting tray, then place the tray with everything else left in it over a high heat. Add wine and boil rapidly for a few minutes. Add stock, cornflour mixture and mustard, then simmer for 5-10 minutes until thickened. Pass through a sieve into a jug and keep warm.

Carve beef across the grain and serve with potatoes, lashings of gravy and seasonal vegetables (I love cabbage braised in butter and garlic).