Emma's Simple Hidden Hotplate Steak

After spending most of Sunday exploring the fantastic museums of Ironbridge, Shropshire I knew I would have little time or energy to create a Sunday roast, with this in mind I purchased two huge sirloin steaks from my local butcher to serve with roasted vegetables.

Returning home from Ironbridge I popped my AGA 60 roasting oven on and relaxed on the sofa with a glass of red wine while my oven heated up (this takes approximately 40 minutes). 30 minutes later I returned to the kitchen to prep my vegetables for roasting – I washed my sweet potatoes and chopped them into rough chip shapes leaving skins on for a crispier result. I cut my carrots into batons, and roughly sliced a red pepper, red onion and threw some left over plum tomatoes onto the baking tray to use them up. I showered the vegetables in British rapeseed oil and sprinkled the sweet potatoes with smoked paprika and garlic salt, while covering the remaining vegetables in thyme.

Using my enamelled steel full size baking tray i simply slid the tray on to a central set of runners and closed the oven door (eagle eyed readers will notice I forgot to use bake-o-glide to line my tin – I would highly recommend using bake-o-glide as it makes the post meal clean up quick and easy although luckily the enamelled steel baking tray is dishwasher safe). The vegetables required about 30-40 minutes and turning over halfway through cooking. I decided as my roasting oven was on I’d make use of my ‘hidden hotplate’ – the floor of my roasting oven. With my floor grid in place, I oiled and seasoned my sirloin steaks and placed them on my brand new oven floor griddle. I cooked the steaks medium rare, which only required a few minutes on either side, they remained deliciously juicy and succulent when served. I quickly cooked some onion rings on the griddle at the same time. The enormous heat generated by the roasting oven never fails to surprise me – food is cooked so quickly but retains all the flavour and juices of the food as though it’s been gently bathed in heat by the cast iron ovens of the AGA.

While my veggies were roasting away I decided to try out a new recipe by Deliciously Ella for simple 5 ingredient cookies. I always create a no refined sugar bake each week to help me to avoid naughty treats after dinner. These cookies couldn’t be simpler – place ground almonds, dates, chia seeds and almond milk in a food processor. Add raisins, then roll out 12 cookies and bake in the baking oven for 15-20 minutes. I used my cold plain shelf in the roasting oven as a heat deflector to create a baking temperature.

This simple, healthy meal took less than an hour to create and I was able to whizz up a ‘healthy’ dessert too.