Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding and Mixed Vegetables

Preheat oven to 140°C (approximately 275°F). Rinse herbs, shake dry and chop finely. Crush pepper finely and mix with herbs. Rinse roast beef, pat dry and season with salt and pepper. Wrap bacon around roast beef, roll in herb mixture, press firmly and tie with kitchen twine. Sear wrapped roast briefly in hot oil. Bake roast on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet for 50-60 minutes.

For the gravy, melt butter in a saucepan, add flour and cook until light brown, stirring constantly. While stirring, pour gravy and broth into saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir cognac into gravy, season with salt and pepper and keep warm.

Rinse and scrub potatoes and boil in salted water 20-25 minutes. Rinse carrots and beans and steam until al dente, about 15 minutes.

Remove roast from oven, remove kitchen twine and cover roast with aluminum foil to keep warm. If desired, reduce oven temperature to 80°C (approximately 175°F) and keep roast warm in oven. Loosen browned bits from roasting pan with a little water and add to gravy.

For the Yorkshire pudding, mix flour and salt. Mix water and eggs and stir into flour mixture. Heat milk and stir into batter until smooth. Grease 12 small ramekins and heat for about 5 minutes in oven preheated to 200°C (approximately 400°F). Remove ramekins from oven and divide batter evenly among ramekins. Bake at 200-210°C (approximately 400-410°F) until puddings rise, 10-15 minutes.