Recipes: Four boldly seasoned roasts using less expensive eye of round

Solve the age-old question of “What’s for dinner?” with rubs that use bold flavors including miso, berbere spice, curry powder, and anchovies.

Roasted Eye of Round With Miso, Orange, and Five-Spiceconnie miller/of CB Creatives

Eye of round is a big, inexpensive beef roast that, cooked slowly with gentle heat, yields tender, flavorful results with little effort. All it takes is rubbing the meat with a high-impact seasoning paste, making it a prime cut for a range of approaches in our book COOKish, which limits recipes to six ingredients (minus staples like olive oil). Sweet and savory tomato paste complements a rub with curry powder, coriander, and ginger. The Ethiopian spice blend berbere contains dried chilies and a multitude of spices, which we combine with olive oil, garlic, and rosemary for complex flavor. Savory miso lends depth to a mixture with Chinese five-spice and orange zest. And jarred black olive tapenade gives Mediterranean flair to a rub spiked with thyme.

Roasted Eye of Round With Miso, Orange, and Five-Spice

Makes 8 to 10 servings

This recipe uses a high-impact seasoning paste, one that can stand up to a long roast. Salty, subtly sweet, umami-rich miso serves as the base, then ginger, five-spice, and orange zest are added for flavor complexity.

¼ cup red miso or white miso

2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger

2 tablespoons neutral oil

1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

1 4-pound beef eye of round roast, trimmed of silver skin

4 tablespoons (½ stick) salted butter, cut into 4 pieces

Thinly sliced scallions, optional, for garnish

Heat the oven to 275 degrees. Set a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. In a small bowl, mix the miso, ginger, oil, five-spice,

orange zest, 1 tablespoon salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the mixture. Rub the remaining paste over the beef, then set it on the rack and roast until the center reaches 125 degrees, 1¾ to 2 hours. Let it rest for 30 minutes on the rack, then thinly slice.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter, then whisk in the reserved seasoning paste and accumulated beef juices; serve with the roast. Top with the scallions, if using.

Curry-Roasted Eye of Round

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Tomato paste is the base for this seasoning mix; its sweetness and acidity accentuate the warm, spicy notes of the curry powder. It also adds color to the roast, which does not develop dark caramelization because of the low oven temperature. For best texture, slice the roast very thinly for serving.

¼ cup tomato paste

3 tablespoons finely grated, fresh ginger

2 tablespoons curry powder

2 teaspoons ground coriander

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

1 4-pound beef eye of round roast, trimmed of silver skin

4 tablespoons (½ stick) salted butter, cut into 4 pieces

Chopped fresh cilantro or lime wedges or both, optional, for garnish

Heat the oven to 275 degrees. Set a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. Mix together the tomato paste, ginger, curry powder, coriander, 4 teaspoons salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the mixture. Rub the remaining paste on the beef, then set it on the rack and roast until the center reaches 125 degrees, 1¾ to 2 hours. Let rest on the rack for 30 minutes, then thinly slice.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter, then whisk in the reserved seasoning paste and accumulated beef juices; serve with the roast.

Garnish with the cilantro and/or lime wedges, if using.

Roasted Eye of Round With Berbere Spiceconnie miller/of CB Creatives

Roasted Eye of Round With Berbere Spice

Makes 8 to 10 servings

The Ethiopian spice blend called berbere (pronounced bur-bray) is a mix of dried chilies, garlic, ginger, and spices, and it’s a key ingredient in the seasoning paste for this roast. Look for it in the spice section of well-stocked grocery stores.

The spiciness of berbere tends to vary blend to blend, so we give a range for how much to use.

6 medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

2 to 3 tablespoons berbere seasoning (see headnote)

2 tablespoons neutral oil

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

1 4-pound beef eye of round roast, trimmed of silver skin

4 tablespoons (½ stick) salted butter, cut into 4 pieces

Fresno chilies or jalapeño chilies, stemmed and finely chopped, optional, for garnish

Heat the oven to 275 degrees. Set a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. In a food processor, pulse the garlic, ginger, berbere, oil, rosemary, 1 tablespoon salt, and 2 teaspoons

pepper to a smooth paste. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the mixture. Rub the remaining paste on the beef, then set it on the rack and roast until the center reaches 125 degrees, 1¾ to 2 hours. Let rest for 30 minutes, then thinly slice.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter, then whisk in the reserved seasoning paste and accumulated beef juices; serve with the roast. Garnish with the chilies, if using.

Roasted Eye of Round With Black Olives and Anchovies

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Black olive tapenade made into a seasoning paste with anchovies, garlic, and thyme lends this roast bold Mediterranean flavor.

If you prefer, instead of tapenade, use 6 tablespoons chopped, pitted black olives plus 2 tablespoons chopped capers.

½ cup black olive tapenade (see headnote)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 oil-packed anchovy fillets

4 medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

2 teaspoons dried thyme

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

1 4-pound beef eye of round roast, trimmed of silver skin

4 tablespoons (½ stick) salted butter, cut into 4 pieces

Grated lemon zest or chopped fresh, flat-leaf parsley or both, optional, for garnish

Heat the oven to 275 degrees. Set a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. In a food processor, pulse the tapenade, oil, anchovies, garlic, thyme, 1 tablespoon salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper to a smooth paste. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the mixture. Rub the remaining paste on the beef, then set it on the rack and roast until the center reaches 125 degrees, 1¾ to 2 hours. Let it rest on the rack for 30 minutes, then thinly slice.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter, then whisk in the reserved seasoning paste and accumulated beef juices; serve with the roast. Garnish with the lemon zest and/or parsley, if using.