Q. What do I do with an eye of round roast? A. Roast Beef with Dijon-Caper Sauce

I can’t believe how few pieces of beef we have left!   Last weekend I cooked our eye of round roast.  Like many of the cuts we had, I had to do a little research to figure out what to do with it.

I found this recipe on epicurious.com and it looked easy yet flavorful.  The roast cooked perfectly and I really enjoyed the mustard-caper sauce.  My only big mistake, and piece of advice to anyone who cooks this cut of beef, is to slice the beef very thinly.  I made the slices much too thick.  I am not good at carving meat — I think I need to take a carving class!

I served the beef with an easy version of potato au gratin.  A delicious Sunday night meal.

Roast Beef with Dijon-Caper Sauce
Bon Appetit

Roast Beef:

• 1 3-pound eye of round beef roast, trimmed of excess fat and sinew
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 2 cups low-salt beef broth
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons drained capers

For roast beef:
Sprinkle beef with 1/2 teaspoon salt; let stand 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix thyme, basil, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in small bowl. Heat oil in large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef; cook until browned on all sides, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with herb mixture. Transfer skillet to oven. Roast until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of meat registers 130°F, about 40 minutes. Transfer to cutting board; let rest.

For sauce:
Place skillet with juices over medium-high heat. Add butter; stir until melted. Add flour; whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in broth; bring to boil. Boil until sauce is reduced to 1 1/4 cups, whisking often, about 6 minutes. Whisk in mustard and capers. Season sauce with pepper.

Cut beef crosswise into very thin slices. Transfer beef to platter. Serve with sauce.

Test-kitchen tip:
Eye of round is not the most tender cut of beef. For the best flavor and texture, be sure to slice it very thinly.