French Dip with Caraway Focaccia Bread and Horseradish Chives Cream Cheese


Date Published: Feb 10th, 2025 | Last Updated: Feb 10th, 2025
Author: Abby | Category: mains
Serves: 6 | Prep time: 3 hours | Cook time: 3 hours

Jump to recipe |

If you haven’t guessed it already, my last three published recipes have been gearing up for this one! This recipe makes the most incredible juicy roast beef sandwich that is balanced with a subtle hint of horseradish masked in the chives cream cheese, and placed between soft fresh focaccia bread topped with caraway seeds. The homemade jus made from the roast beef drippings bring it all together in this amazing sandwich. *chef’s kiss*

I’m going to admit, this combination of flavours is not my original idea. This sandwich is a copycat to a French dip that we had at WINNER Bakery in Brooklyn on 7th Ave a few months ago. If you’ve never been, you should definitely hit them up. There’s usually a queue but their sandwiches and breads are well worth it! I tried this sandwich for the first time a few months ago when I was strolling home from the farmer’s market, and the combination of flavours were so good that I had to bring Toby back to try it. I wanted this sandwich all the time, but at $20 a pop for a small sandwich and the long queue, it wasn’t going to be an everyday sandwich. I thought about this sandwich frequently and knew I just had to give it a go and try to make it myself – and I did! In my humble opinion (and Toby’s), I think my version is even better than the original with a more flavourful jus. I use a focaccia instead of a bun and fresh roast beef. The best part is that I can pack on as much roast beef and cream cheese I want and have it again and again. This recipe make enough for at least 6 sandwiches (if you’re a cream cheese fiend, you may want to double the horseradish chives cream cheese portion).

Where it all began – the French Dip sandwich at WINNER Bakery, Brooklyn

Everything is made from scratch in this recipe. I mean everything, from the bread to the roast beef to even the prepared horseradish. It is a labour of love so you’ll need to dedicate your morning to this. The good thing is, there’s a lot of waiting (ie. for the beef to come to room temperature, for the dough to proof, for the beef to cook), so you can do multiple steps while you’re waiting to cut down on the overall time to make this sandwich. If you’re in a rush, you can cut corners by using store bought roast beef deli slices, pre-made jus, and any kind of sandwich bread. The only thing you can’t buy is the horseradish chive cream cheese, which is pretty easy to whip up anyway. I’d highly recommend not cutting any corners to get the full experience of this beauty.

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • Roast Beef:
    • 2 lbs chuck roast/whole eye round/rump roast (I like to use chuck roast with some marbling)
    • 2 + 2 Tbsps salt
    • 10 cloves of garlic, peeled
    • Fresh ground black pepper
    • Olive oil
  • Caraway Seed Focaccia:
    • 1 x basic dough ball
    • Olive oil drizzle
    • Salt
    • 1/4 cup Caraway seeds
  • Au Jus:
    • 1 cup beef stock
    • 1 Tbsp Worccestershire sauce
    • 2 Tbsps red wine (ie. pinot noir)
    • +/- butter
    • +/- beef bouillon cube
    • Salt to taste
  • Horseradish & Chives Cream Cheese:
    • 1 package (8oz/226g) of plain cream cheese, softened
    • 3 Tbsps (7g) of fresh chives, chopped
    • 1-2 Tbsps horseradish (or more to taste) – check out how to make your own horseradish from scratch here
    • Salt to taste

Directions:

Roast Beef:

Take the beef out of the fridge 2 hours before. Rinse, pat dry and salt all sides. Wrap it back up in plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature.

You can make the caraway focaccia bread in this time.

After 2 hours, preheat the oven to 400˚F/200˚C (if it’s not already preheated from baking the focaccia). Unwrap the beef and pat dry with a paper towel. Use a pairing knife and create 5 slits into both sides of the roast and push a clove of garlic into each slit. Rub salt (yes, more salt), fresh ground black pepper, and olive oil on all sides of the beef. Cover again and leave at room temperature for another 20 minutes.

Make slits or X’s into the beef
Place a garlic clove in each slit
Garlic cloves in the slits
Rub more salt and pepper on all sides with oil
Rubbed in salt, pepper, and oil on all sides
Wrap and let it rest for another 20 mins

Prepare a baking tray with a metal rack over top and place the beef on the rack. Rub a small amount of olive oil on the outside one more time. If you have a layer on your beef, face the fat layer on top so the fat will drip onto the meat as it cooks. Insert an oven-safe thermometer into the middle of the beef if you’ve got one. Bake in the preheated oven at 400˚F/200˚C for 15 minutes to start the browning process, then turn the heat down to 325˚F/163˚C and continue to cook until the internal temperature reaches 120˚F/49˚C (roughly 1.5-2.5 hours, depending on the size of your beef).

Rub oil on one more time
Insert thermometer
Bake on the middle rack
Set thermometer temp for 120˚F/49˚C.

You can make the horseradish chives cream cheese in this time.

Once done cooking, let the roast rest for 20-30 minutes at room temperature before slicing.

You can make the au jus in this time.

When rested, use a sharp knife or deli meat slicer and slice the roast into very thin slices.

Use a knife or deli slicer to slice the beef into thin pieces

Caraway Focaccia Bread:

Follow the recipe for Easy Focaccia Bread. When you get to the toppings part, use 1/4 cup caraway seeds and a sprinkle of salt with the olive oil. Bake according to instructions at 400˚F/200˚C for 20-25mins.

After baking, brush on another 2 Tbsps of olive oil over the top. Let it rest for a few minutes then transfer on a cooling rack and let it cool completely before slicing.

Horseradish & Chives Cream Cheese:

In a mixing bowl, add the softened cream cheese, chopped chives, and the horseradish 1 teaspoon at a time until desired taste (horseradish can be very strong and some brands are hotter than others, so add small amounts until you’re happy).

Au Jus:

Once the roast beef has finished cooking, collect the drippings from the roast tray into a small saucepan. You should have about 1/4 cup (if not, add enough butter to make it 1/4 cup).

Add 1 cup of beef stock, 1 Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce and 2 Tbsps of red wine to the saucepan and heat on MED heat until simmering. Taste and adjust salt as needed. To make it a more robust beefy flavour, add in 1 beef bouillon cube.

Assembly of the sandwich:

Slice the focaccia into desired sandwich size rectangles, then slice it horizontally.

Apply a layer of the horseradish & chives sour cream onto one slice of the bread, then sandwich a few slices of roast beef in between. Serve with the jus. Done! Serve immediately with a hot jus.

Summarized Recipe:

French Dip with Caraway Focaccia Bread and Horseradish Chives Cream Cheese

Date Published: Feb 10th, 2025 | Last Updated: Feb 10th, 2025
Author: Abby | Category: mains
Serves: 6 | Prep time: 3 hours | Cook time: 3 hours

Ingredients:

  • Roast Beef:
    • 2 lbs chuck roast/whole eye round/rump roast (I like to use chuck roast with some marbling)
    • 2 + 2 Tbsps salt
    • 10 cloves of garlic, peeled
    • Fresh ground black pepper
    • Olive oil
  • Caraway Seed Focaccia:
    • 1 x basic dough ball
    • Olive oil drizzle
    • Salt
    • 1/4 cup Caraway seeds
  • Au Jus:
    • 1 cup beef stock
    • 1 Tbsp Worccestershire sauce
    • 2 Tbsps red wine (ie. pinot noir)
    • +/- butter
    • +/- beef bouillon cube
    • Salt to taste
  • Horseradish & Chives Cream Cheese:
    • 1 package (8oz/226g) of plain cream cheese, softened
    • 3 Tbsps (7g) of fresh chives, chopped
    • 1-2 Tbsps horseradish (or more to taste)
    • Salt to taste

Directions:

Roast Beef:

  1. Take the beef out of the fridge 2 hours before and salt all sides. Wrap it back up in plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature.
    • You can make the caraway focaccia bread in this time.
  2. After 2 hours, preheat the oven to 400˚F/200˚C (if it’s not already preheated from baking the focaccia). Unwrap the beef and pat dry with a paper towel. Use a pairing knife and create 5 slits into both sides of the roast and push a clove of garlic into each slit. Rub salt (yes, more salt), fresh ground black pepper, and olive oil on all sides of the beef. Cover again and leave at room temperature for another 20 minutes.
  3. Prepare a baking tray with a metal rack over top and place the beef on the rack. Rub a small amount of olive oil on the outside one more time. If you have a layer on your beef, face the fat layer on top so the fat will drip onto the meat as it cooks. Insert an oven-safe thermometer into the middle of the beef if you’ve got one. Bake in the preheated oven at 400˚F/200˚C for 15 minutes to start the browning process, then turn the heat down to 325˚F/163˚C and continue to cook until the internal temperature reaches 120˚F/49˚C (roughly 1.5-2.5 hours, depending on the size of your beef).
    • You can make the horseradish chives cream cheese in this time.
  4. Once done cooking, let the roast rest for 20-30 minutes at room temperature before slicing.
    • You can make the au jus in this time.
  5. When rested, use a sharp knife or deli meat slicer and slice the roast into very thin slices.

Caraway Focaccia Bread:

  1. Follow the recipe for Easy Focaccia Bread. When you get to the toppings part, use 1/4 cup caraway seeds and a sprinkle of salt with the olive oil. Bake according to instructions at 400˚F/200˚C for 20-25mins.

Horseradish & Chives Cream Cheese:

  1. In a mixing bowl, add the softened cream cheese, chopped chives, and the horseradish 1 teaspoon at a time until desired taste (horseradish can be very strong and some brands are hotter than others, so add small amounts until you’re happy).
    • Making your own horseradish:
      • 1. Add 240g horseradish root (peeled and chopped) to a small blender or food processor and add enough water to blend the horseradish into a smooth purée (I added about 1/4 cup).
      • 2. Once blended, strain out any excess water, then add in 1 Tbsp of white vinegar and a pinch of salt to offset the spiciness. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month.

Au Jus:

  1. Once the roast beef has finished cooking, collect the drippings from the roast tray into a small saucepan. You should have about 1/4 cup (if not, add enough butter to make it 1/4 cup).
  2. Add 1 cup of beef stock, 1 Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce and 2 Tbsps of red wine to the saucepan and heat on MED heat until simmering. Taste and adjust salt as needed. To make it a more robust beefy flavour, add in 1 beef bouillon cube.

Assembly of the sandwich:

  1. Slice the focaccia into desired sandwich size rectangles, then slice it horizontally.
  2. Apply a layer of the horseradish & chives sour cream onto one slice of the bread, then sandwich a few slices of roast beef in between. Serve with the jus. Done! Serve immediately with a hot jus.

AbbyLeave a comment

Classic Juicy Roast Beef


Date Published: Feb 5th, 2025 | Last Updated: Feb 5th, 2025
Author: Abby |Category: mains, easy
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 2.5 hours | Cook time: 2 hours

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This classic roast beef recipe is easy and guarantees juicy and tender results. All you need is beef, garlic, salt, and pepper as the ingredients and a little patience. Most of the work is in the prep, which is essentially rubbing salt and pepper and inserting cloves of garlic, then slow roasting it in the oven. The hardest part of this recipe is waiting for it to rest before diving in!

Which cut of beef to choose?

When it comes to choosing which cut of beef to use, there are many choices. The most common cuts are top round, bottom round (rump roast), eye of round, and top sirloin. These are leaner cuts and are best suited for slicing thinly for sandwiches, but it can be a little tough and chewy if you can’t slice it thin enough.

If you’re making a roast beef to serve on its own in thick slices, choose a cut with some fat marbling for better flavour and tenderness (such as chuck roast, prime rib, sirloin, or rib eye).

If you’re struggling to find a specific cut of meat, this roast beef recipe is pretty forgiving – essentially get anything that is a big chunk of meat that resembles a roast and it should be fine. If it’s on the leaner side, then it’s best to slice it thin for sandwiches.

What’s the secret to a juicy roast beef?

  1. Browning the outside to seal in the juices – This is achieved either by searing the meat separately before putting it in the oven, or cranking up the heat briefly at the start of cooking, then turning it down low. You can do either with this recipe. I’ve done it the oven-method to save on cleaning.
  2. Cook it low and slow – After the browning process, turning down the heat and slowly cooking the roast will ensure that the juices are slowly released as it cooks.
  3. A meat thermometer is important – Overcooked beef becomes dry and tough. The best way to avoid this is to get an oven-safe thermometer, ideally with a temperature timer so you can set it and forget it.
  4. Letting it rest appropriately before resting – As tempting as it is, slicing a piping hot roast that has just come out of the oven will make the juices drip out from the meat and evaporate from the heat, causing it to dry out quickly. To avoid this, you must let the roast rest for at least 20-30 minutes after taking it out of the oven to allow the juices to be maintained in the meat. I usually leave my meat thermometer in after taking it out of the oven and once the temperature stops climbing, that’s when I know it’s time to slice.

What to do with leftover roast beef?

A 3 pound roast is a hefty amount of meat and you’re bound to get leftovers, especially if you’re only cooking for 2 people. Here are a number of ideas to help you use up the leftovers:

  • Steak & Blue Cheese Salad
  • Beef stroganoff
  • Shepherd’s/Cottage Pie
  • Beef stew
  • Chillis
  • Quesadillas
  • Nachos
  • Philly Cheesesteaks

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 2-3 pounds/1-1.3kg chuck roast/whole eye round/rump roast (I like to use chuck roast with some marbling)
  • 2 + 2 Tbsps salt
  • 10 cloves of garlic, peeled
  • Fresh ground black pepper
  • Olive oil

Directions:

Take the beef out of the fridge 2 hours before. Rinse, pat dry and salt all sides. Wrap it back up in plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature.

After 2 hours, preheat the oven to 400˚F/200˚C. Unwrap the beef and pat dry with a paper towel. Use a pairing knife and create 5 slits into both sides of the roast and push a clove of garlic into each slit. Rub salt (yes, more salt), fresh ground black pepper, and olive oil on all sides of the beef. Cover again and leave at room temperature for another 20 minutes.

Make slits or X’s into the beef
Place a garlic clove in each slit
Garlic cloves in the slits
Rub more salt and pepper on all sides with oil
Rubbed in salt, pepper, and oil on all sides
Wrap and let it rest for another 20 mins

Prepare a baking tray with a metal rack over top and place the beef on the rack. Rub a small amount of olive oil on the outside one more time. If you have a layer on your beef, face the fat layer on top so the fat will drip onto the meat as it cooks. Insert an oven-safe thermometer into the middle of the beef if you’ve got one. Bake in the preheated oven at 400˚F/200˚C for 15 minutes to start the browning process, then turn the heat down to 325˚F/163˚C and continue to cook until the internal temperature reaches 120˚F/49˚C (roughly 1.5-2.5 hours, depending on the size of your beef).

Rub oil on one more time
Insert thermometer
Bake on the middle rack
Set thermometer temp for 120˚F/49˚C.

Once done cooking, let the roast rest for 20-30 minutes at room temperature before slicing.

If you’re using this for sandwiches, use a sharp knife or deli meat slicer and slice the roast into very thin slices.

Use a knife or deli slicer to slice the beef into thin pieces
Chuck roast
Eye round

Summarized Recipe:

Classic Juicy Roast Beef

Date Published: Feb 5th, 2025 | Last Updated: Feb 5th, 2025
Author: Abby |Category: mains, easy
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 2.5 hours | Cook time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

  • 2 – 3 lbs chuck roast/whole eye round/rump roast (I like to use chuck roast with some marbling)
  • 2 + 2 Tbsps salt
  • 10 cloves of garlic, peeled
  • Fresh ground black pepper
  • Olive oil

Directions:

  1. Take the beef out of the fridge 2 hours before and salt all sides. Wrap it back up in plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature.
  2. After 2 hours, preheat the oven to 400˚F/200˚C. Unwrap the beef and pat dry with a paper towel. Use a pairing knife and create 5 slits into both sides of the roast and push a clove of garlic into each slit. Rub salt (yes, more salt), fresh ground black pepper, and olive oil on all sides of the beef. Cover again and leave at room temperature for another 20 minutes.
  3. Prepare a baking tray with a metal rack over top and place the beef on the rack. Rub a small amount of olive oil on the outside one more time. If you have a layer on your beef, face the fat layer on top so the fat will drip onto the meat as it cooks. Insert an oven-safe thermometer into the middle of the beef if you’ve got one. Bake in the preheated oven at 400˚F/200˚C for 15 minutes to start the browning process, then turn the heat down to 325˚F/163˚C and continue to cook until the internal temperature reaches 120˚F/49˚C (roughly 1.5-2.5 hours, depending on the size of your beef).
  4. Once done cooking, let the roast rest for 20-30 minutes at room temperature before slicing.
    • If you’re using this for sandwiches, use a sharp knife or deli meat slicer and slice the roast into very thin slices.

AbbyLeave a comment

Roasted Garlic (a how-to guide)


Date Published: July 20th, 2024 | Last Updated: July 20th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: how-to, easy
Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 40 mins

Jump to recipe |

Roasted garlic is one of those magical ingredients that’s packed with so much flavour and yet so easy to make. It’s so versatile and easy to use – you can put it in so many things to easily add an extra depth of flavour or just spread it over plain toast with a drizzle of olive oil for a quick snack. You’ll be amazed how easy it is to make and the best part is that it keeps well in the fridge for up to a week covered in olive oil so you can make a bit extra and continue to use it throughout the week without putting in the effort. 🙂

If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • Garlic bulbs – however many you’d like to roast
  • Drizzle of olive oil
  • Pinch of salt
  • Pinch of black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C).

Prepare a small square baking tray and pour in a drizzle of olive oil.

Slice the base off of the garlic bulbs (the flat side – see photo) and dip the exposed side into the olive oil and place the bulbs in the tray, cut side up.

Sprinkle salt and pepper over top. Make sure all the exposed garlic cloves are covered in oil so it doesn’t burn.

Cover the tray with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.

After 40 mins, take it out of the oven, carefully remove the foil and let the roasted garlic cool down. Once cool enough to handle, gently remove the garlic cloves from the outer layer. Done!

Summarized Recipe:

Roasted Garlic (a how-to guide)

Date Published: July 20th, 2024 | Last Updated: July 20th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: how-to, easy
Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

  • Garlic bulbs – however many you’d like to roast
  • Drizzle of olive oil
  • Pinch of salt
  • Pinch of black pepper

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C).
  2. Prepare a small square baking tray and pour in a drizzle of olive oil.
  3. Slice the base off of the garlic bulbs (the flat side – see photo) and dip the exposed side into the olive oil and place the bulbs in the tray, cut side up. Sprinkle salt and pepper over top. Make sure all the exposed garlic cloves are covered in oil so it doesn’t burn.
  4. Cover the tray with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.
  5. After 40 mins, take it out of the oven and carefully remove the foil and let the roasted garlic cool down. Once cool enough to handle, gently remove the garlic cloves from the outer layer. Done!

AbbyLeave a comment