BEEF & POTATO POT ROAST

As a rough guide, do as many carrots and onions as you think
you’d need to feed, say, six people.
11⁄2–2 lb (750 g–1 kg) beef brisket
Carrots
Baby onions
1 turnip
4 largish potatoes
11⁄2 pints (850 ml) beef stock (1 stock cube)
1⁄2 glass of sherry
1 big tsp of mustard
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp garlic purée
Oil
Seasoning
Method
1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 2–3 (160–170ºC); warm some
oil in a large deep-sided pan while you scrape the carrots, peel
the onions and turnip and chop all the vegetables into large
chunks.
2. Cook the vegetables over a high heat for a few minutes until
the onions are softer and slightly golden then transfer to a very
large casserole dish.
3. Meanwhile, peel and cut the potatoes into rounds.
4. Season the beef then put it into the pan and seal the meat,
using a large spoon and fork to turn the joint over so it browns
quickly on all sides.
5. Put the beef in the casserole dish with the vegetables then add
the beef stock, sherry, mustard, tomato and garlic purées to the
pan, stir well and bring to the boil.
6. Pour the liquid over the beef and vegetables in the casserole
dish then cover the surface of the casserole with slices of potato.
7. Cover the casserole with a lid and cook in the oven for between
2–21⁄2 hours.
8. Take the lid off, turn the oven up to Gas Mark 6 (200ºC) and
cook for another 20 minutes until the potato slices on the
surface are crisp and brown.
Tip
Add herbs and spices to pot roasts according to taste, also
bouquet garni bags, bay leaves, or cloves pressed into baby
onions and removed after cooking.