Slow-cooked brisket with prunes (Myaso s chernoslivom)

This is wonderful slow-cooked on a Sunday, ready for the week ahead. Anastasia Zolotarev says her babushka Liana often pairs meat with prunes, a common combination influenced by the Yiddish community that lived in Ukraine. Serve with potatoes, boiled, baked, mashed with soured cream... however you wish.

Slow-cooked brisket with prunes (Myaso s chernoslivom). Credit: Karen Fisher / Quadrille

• serves

  6-8

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  3 hours

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 50 g (1¾ oz) butter or oil 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 large carrot, thinly sliced into half-moons or quarters
• 1 kg (2 lb 4o z) brisket, diced into 2 cm (¾I n) chunks
• 400 g (14 oz) passata
• 500 ml (17 fl oz) beef or bone stock (see Note)
• 150 g (5½ oz) pitted prunes
• 3 tsp smooth or grainy mustard
• 1 bay leaf
• Boiled, baked or mashed potato (I like this with soured cream mashed into the potatoes), to serve

Instructions

1. Melt 30 g (1 oz) of the butter in a large casserole dish over a medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic and carrot, then cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until slightly golden and aromatic. Take care not to burn the garlic - adjust the heat as needed. Remove the mixture from the dish.
2. Add the remaining butter to the dish along with the diced brisket. Cook the meat on all sides over a medium-high heat for 10 minutes, then return the vegetable mixture. Stir in the passata, stock, prunes, mustard, bay leaf and 750 ml (26fl oz) of water. Cover with a lid and gently simmer for 2½-3 hours over a low-medium heat. Check regularly, and if the liquid is evaporating too much, add another 250 ml (9 fl oz) of water.
3. After about 3 hours, remove from the heat, taste and season with salt and pepper. You can keep the meat chunky or use a fork to break it up.
4. Serve with boiled, baked or mashed potatoes, as you like.

Note

Use any sort of beef or bone stock; I have made this plenty of times with just water. You could also use sweet paprika instead of mustard in this recipe.

Recipe from Sour Cherries & Sunflowers by Anastasia Zolotarev, photography by Karen Fisher (Quadrille).

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.