Fy-Anna's Valentine’s Day Roasted Beef Brisket with Special Gravy and Vegetables
Serves 2 (with leftovers)
Takes 4.5 hours but sooooo worth it!!
Ingredients
For the brisket and gravy:
4tbsp vegetable oil
Rolled beef brisket about 1.5-1.75kg
3 onions, sliced
3 tbsp plain flour
2 tsp mustard powder
A few sprigs of fresh thyme, pick off leaves and keep; discard stalks
1 tbsp marmite
1 tbsp Worcester sauce
300ml decent quality red wine
750ml beef stock
To accompany
4tbsp vegetable or coconut oil
Knob of butter
2 tbsp maple syrup
5 medium potatoes
1 large parsnip
2 large carrots
Half of a white or green cabbage
Frozen peas
Sea salt
Black pepper
Method
1) preheat oven to 170c/150 fan/gas mark 3
Heat 2tbsp vegetable oil in a large casserole dish on the hob over a high heat. Season the brisket with salt and pepper and place in the dish, turn to brown all over then take out and place on a plate.
2) turn down the heat to low and add the remaining 2tsbp oil and the sliced onions and some salt. Put the lid on and cook, stirring regularly for 20-30 mins until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the flour, mustard powder and thyme leaves to the dish and stir well, scraping off any juices from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
3) add marmite, Worcestershire sauce and beef stock to the pan, stir well and turn off the heat. Place the brisket in the pan and then cover the dish with foil and put the lid on. Cook in the middle of the oven for three hours. Take off the lid and leave the foil on, move to the lowest shelf in the oven for another hour to an hour and a half, until the meat is so tender it is falling apart and the gravy is reduced down by about half.
4) while the meat is in the oven. Peel potatoes, cut into decent sized chunks to make good sized roasties. Par boil until just beginning to soften then drain. When you drain them, shake them about in the collinder so they fluff up at the edges, then place a tea towel over the collinder and leave them for a few minutes. This helps soften the edges which leads to nice crispy roasties later on. About half hour before your beef will be done, turn the oven up to 180c (make sure you leave the foil on the beef - this won’t cause it any harm). Place a baking tray with 2tbsp coconut or veg oil and some sea salt on the top shelf of the oven for five mins. Then add the potatoes to it. The oil will be hot and will spit so be careful not to burn yourself. Shake the tray to coat potatoes with oil. Time fifteen mins then turn the oven down to 160c and cook potatoes for another 25-35 mins until crispy and brown.
Meanwhile parboil parsnips and carrots until just soft, then drain and place in a baking tray with the remaining oil. Place in the oven for 20mins then drizzle the maple syrup over the top, add salt and give them 5 mins more in the oven. Cook the sliced cabbage in butter, salt and pepper in a pan on the hob and boil the peas on the hob.
Back to the brisket! When it’s cooked, take it out of the oven to rest. Remove meat from dish and onto a wooden board, leave for ten mins and then chop into lovely chunks. Pour the gravy into a bowl. In the empty casserole dish, boil the wine on the hob on high heat, scraping the pan throughly with a wooden spoon, when it’s reduced by about half and thickened, pour the gravy back in and add a knob of butter. Season to taste - best gravy in the world!
Plate up all the lovely vegetables and serve at the table, with the gravy in a jug.
