The roast beef of old England has been a point of national pride since the eighteenth century, when a patriotic song of that name was sung in theaters, and the Sunday roast remains the meal around which British families gather. The Yorkshire pudding began as a thrifty northern trick: a batter cooked beneath the meat to catch its dripping fat and fill everyone up before the expensive part arrived. Today it puffs up in its own tin into a crisp golden crown with a soft, eggy hollow, built for holding gravy.

Race weekends at Silverstone tend to fall on summer Sundays, and there are worse ways to fill the hours before the start than with a roast that mostly looks after itself. The one moment of tension is opening the oven to see whether the puddings have risen. They will, if the fat is smoking hot and the oven door stays shut.

The Yorkshire pudding batter

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• about 1 1/4 cups (140 g) all purpose flour
• about 3/4 cup (200 ml) whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

The roast beef

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 lb (1.6 kg) boneless beef roasting joint
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) sunflower or olive oil
• 2 teaspoons flaky or kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon English mustard powder
• 2 medium onions
• 2 carrots

Baking the Yorkshire puddings

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons (60 ml) beef dripping from the roasting pan

The gravy

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (16 g) all purpose flour
• 2 cups (480 ml) hot beef stock
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) red wine
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• to taste salt and pepper

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