Nothing beats a wonderful roast beef Sunday lunch. It’s comfort food at its best. In my opinion, because it’s so filling, there’s really no need for a starter.

This meal was on our menu in the early days of MacNean House when my mother was in charge and I cooked this beef recipe for the family recently on the day of Mum and Dad’s anniversary mass.

Jennings in Ballinrobe, Co Mayo, produce excellent beef and they supply the Dunnes Stores Simply Better range, making their products readily available. A rib of beef is an excellent cut for roasting and is perfect when you’ve got to feed a crowd. Always allow a joint to come back up to room temperature before roasting to achieve the best flavour. The key to its success is to start with a fantastic piece of beef that has been hung for 21 days to improve the flavour and texture.

For the Yorkshire puddings, always preheat the pan in the oven before pouring in the cold batter. In addition to the oil, you could add some beef dripping for some extra indulgence.

This clever lemon sponge pudding separates to form a light, golden sponge over a layer of thick lemon custard. We are at the end of the blackberry season, so you could use raspberries, which also work well with lemon. That said, I always think that blackberries are a lovely ingredient with which to surprise your guests. Rest assured that you will have a table full of well-satisfied family members or guests.

Ingredients: Serves 6-8

1 tsp black peppercorns

1 tbsp strong English mustard

2 tsp sea salt

1.5kg rib of beef on the bone, at room temp

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

2 large onions, peeled and quartered with root left intact

2 large carrots, halved lengthways

1 garlic bulb, halved (not peeled)

Small handful of soft thyme sprigs

2 tsp plain flour

400ml beef or chicken stock

Horseradish cream, to serve

For the Yorkshire puddings:

3 eggs

100g plain flour

250ml milk

Pinch of sea salt

Rapeseed oil, for cooking

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 230°C (450°F/gas mark 8).

2 Heat a small frying pan and toast the peppercorns until aromatic, then place in a pestle and mortar and grind until cracked. Place in a bowl, then mix in the mustard and salt. Wipe the meat with damp kitchen paper and rub all over with the mustard mixture.

3 Pour the oil into a roasting tin and add the onions, carrots, garlic and thyme, tossing to coat. Season to taste, then push to the edges and sit the beef in the middle of the vegetables.

4 Roast for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 200°C and roast for 10 minutes per 450g for rare, 12 minutes for medium-rare and 20–25 minutes for well done. A joint this size will take just under 1 hour to cook.

Take out and baste halfway through the cooking.

5 Meanwhile, make the Yorkshire pudding batter. Whisk the eggs, flour, milk and salt together in a bowl until well combined. Pour the batter into a Pyrex jug and let it rest for 30 minutes before you use it – this will help to make it smoother, giving you fantastic light and crispy puddings.

6 When the beef is cooked to your liking, remove it from the tin along with the onions and carrots and place on a platter. Cover with tin foil and leave to rest for 30 minutes before carving.

7 Now it’s time to cook the Yorkshire puddings. Increase the oven temperature to its highest setting and put a muffin tin in a baking tin on the top shelf. When the oven is up to temperature, carefully remove the tins, close the oven door and add a tablespoon of oil to each hole in the muffin tin. Pop the tins back in the oven for a couple of minutes, until the oil is smoking hot. Open the oven door and slide the shelf with the tins halfway out.

8 Quickly fill each muffin hole with batter, then carefully slide the shelf back into the oven. Cook for 15 minutes without opening the oven door, until the Yorkshire puddings are crisp and golden with a soft, fluffy centre.

9 Meanwhile, quickly make the gravy. Pour the juices from the roasting tin into a jug, discarding the garlic and thyme, and leave the fat to settle on top, then skim off the fat and discard. Reserve the juices. Stir the flour into the roasting tin, scraping the bottom of the tin with a wooden spoon to remove any residue, then gradually stir in the stock and reserved juices. Place directly on the hob and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring. Pour through a fine mesh sieve into a gravy boat.

10 To serve, carve the rested beef into slices and arrange on warmed plates with a dollop of horseradish cream. Add the roasted onions, carrots and Yorkshire puddings. Hand round the gravy separately.

Ingredients: Serves 4-6

175g caster sugar

100g butter, softened,

plus extra for greasing

Finely grated rind

and juice of 4 lemons

4 eggs, separated

50g plain flour

200ml milk

200g blackberries

Icing sugar, to dust

Custard, to serve

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter a 1.5 litre pie dish.

2 Beat together the sugar and butter in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in the lemon rind and juice with the egg yolks, flour and milk – it doesn’t matter if the mixture curdles at this stage.

3 Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until soft peaks have formed, then fold into the lemon mixture until evenly incorporated.

4 Scatter the blackberries into the buttered pie dish and pour the sponge mixture on top in an even layer. Carefully place in a roasting tin half-filled with boiling water (also known as a bain-marie).

5 Bake for 30–35 minutes, until well risen and golden brown. Dust with icing sugar and serve straight to the table with a bowl of custard so that guests can help themselves.