Minted Roast Beef

You’ll find a printable version of this recipe at www.susanmallery.com/recipes.php.

Since I started this cooking blog last year, I have begun to follow other blogs that share free recipes online. There are a lot of very talented cooks in the world… and many of them are also very talented photographers. Sadly, my pictures don’t do my recipes justice.

Recently, I joined Tasty Kitchen. I have shared a couple of my recipes online there already and plan to share more as time permits. While I was on the site, I was very excited to stumble upon the Pioneer Woman’s Food Photography Tips. Maybe by following these tips, I can get a photo accepted by FoodGawker.com, described to me as “food porn.”

Unfortunately, I hit a stumbling block with the first and second tips. The first is to turn off the flash, and the second is to rely instead upon natural light for the food pictures. The problem is, this time of year, the sun goes down in Seattle before 5 pm, and I don’t start cooking until after I finish my writing for the day. And even when the sun is up, we don’t see it very often in this cloudy city. I create recipes as a way to connect with readers, but I think most of my readers would prefer that I spend my best, most creative hours writing the books they love.

But for this recipe, because the meat would benefit from a few hours to absorb the flavors of the rub, I did do some prep work during daylight hours… with a rare Seattle peek of actual daylight! And I must admit, I love how the garlic cloves look in the natural sunlight.

Oh, and by the way, this roast beef tasted amazing. The flavor really didn’t taste much like mint, but it did have a nice little “bite” that was different from the same-old, same-old.

Recipe: Minted Roast Beef

1 beef roast, 2-3 pounds
2 T fresh mint leaves, loosely packed
3 cloves of garlic
1 t dried oregano
1 t kosher salt
½ t black pepper
1 T vegetable oil

Mince the mint leaves and garlic and place in a small bowl. Mix with the oregano, salt, and pepper, then rub over the meat. Place the meat in the refrigerator, uncovered for about two hours.

Pre-heat oven to 225 degrees. Heat heavy-bottomed, oven-safe pan on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Add oil. When oil shimmers, put the roast in the pan. Sear on each side for about 2 minutes. Place the pan with the roast in the oven and cook on low heat until the center of the roast reaches about 150 degrees, about 60-90 minutes. Allow the roast to rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

This picture was taken with a flash, long after the sun went down.