I love my Sunday roast beef rare usually but a well done and slowly roasted joint of brisket that just falls apart, surrounded by caramelised onions and potatoes cooked in the rich meat juices, simply seasoned with salt and pepper is one of life’s great pleasures. I made this with a small brisket but the bigger the better really as the leftovers are fantastic. All you need to serve is a green vegetable side dish of your choice – sprouts, Savoy cabbage, purple sprouting broccoli are all in season and complement the richness of the dish perfectly. 

Serves 4

• 1kg piece of brisket, boned rolled and tied (a 2-2.5kg piece will feed 6 to 8)
• 2 tablespoons of rapeseed or light olive oil
• 5 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and quartered (1 per person plus 1 extra per 4 people   if you’re scaling up to a larger number of  people)
• 2 large onions or 8 banana shallots peeled and sliced from top to bottom
• Salt and black pepper

To make…

• Preheat the oven to 200°C.
• Put the meat into a large roasting tray, season it well with salt and pepper and massage the oil into it. 
• Roast it in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove and reduce the temperature to 140°C. Cover the meat with foil and return to the oven for another 3 hours. A larger joint may need 4 hours.
• Take the joint out of the oven and raise the temperature to 160°C. 
• Baste the meat with the rich juices in the tray and then add the potatoes and onions. Coat them in the juices too and then cook for another hour, uncovered. The meat will develop a crisp crust and the potatoes and onions will be soft and delicious. 
• To serve, lift out the meat onto a carving board. Remove the string, carve it into thick slices and arrange it back in the tray. Spoon over any remaining juices – I like to serve it straight from the roasting tray as this is a rustic dish but feel free to replate it onto a posher warmed platter if you prefer! 

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