Brisket and beer
This is a winter warmer that gets right to the heart of slow cooking. I am introducing you to the wonders of the cartouche - essentially a layer of wet, scrunched up grease-proof paper that sits on the surface of a slow simmering stew, to keep any evaporating liquid circulating and stop the meat or surface from developing a hard, dry crust. The tagine principle, in effect. Cut a circle of GPP or baking parchment to a size just larger than the pot, scrunch it up into a ball and run it under the cold tap. I was delighted to find Galloway beef at a farm shop in the Lake District and took it as a apposite sign. Brisket is a cheaper cut of meat that is perfect for slow cooking, and it was whisked back to London and straight in to the pot. Ingredients, to serve 4 people 900g beef brisket 1 tbsp sunflower / vegetable oil 1 large onion, sliced 1 bulb fennel, sliced 2 sticks celery, sliced 2 carrots, peeled and sliced or diced 2tbsp plain flour 1 bay leaf handful of fresh chopped rosem...