1.5

litres

dry red wine

750

ml

port

4

cups

beef stock

4½

Tbs

butter

680

g

brown onions; chopped

2

tsp

dried thyme

900

g

fresh shiitake mushrooms

1½

Tbs

all purpose flour

2

kg

beef sirloin roast (2 x 1kg pieces)

1½

Tbs

olive oil

1

Boil wine, port, and broth in a heavy, large Dutch oven until reduced to 6 cups, about 40 minutes.

2

Meanwhile, melt 4 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until tender, about 15 minutes.

3

Return onions to skillet. Add flour and stir 3 minutes.

4

Stir mushroom mixture into wine mixture. Simmer over medium heat until thickened and reduced to 6 cups, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

5

Preheat oven to 200°C. Rub roasts with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

6

Place in a roasting pan. Roast until thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 52°C, about 40 minutes for rare. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes.

7

Rewarm sauce over low heat; mix in any juices from roasting pan. Slice sirloin roasts crosswise into 1cm thick slices. Overlap beef slices on platter. Spoon some sauce over. Serve, passing remaining sauce separately.