Roast Beef I

Ingredients

• g beef loin (the same cut used for bistecca alla fiorentina)
• olive oil
• ladleful broth
• salt
• potatoes

Instructions

1. Choose a loin from a young animal, over 1 kg; the goal is a rosy interior that releases juice when sliced.
2. Cook over a hot, bright fire from the start so the surface sears at once.
3. Baste with oil (drain it from the dripping-pan), then finish by passing a ladleful of broth over the meat to make the sauce with the drippings.
4. Salt scantly at half-cooking. Start it about half an hour before serving.
5. Test doneness by pricking the thickest part with a thin larding needle; the juice should be neither blood-red nor dark.
6. Garnish with potatoes browned separately in oil from raw, whole if small, quartered if large.
7. Oven variant: season with salt, oil and butter, surround with raw peeled potatoes, add a glass of water. Leftovers: slice and reheat with butter and meat or tomato sauce.