Basic brown beef ragout, finished as a tomato and rosemary osso buco

Roughly chop the celery, carrot and onion for the mirepoix; halve the garlic, remove the germ and bruise it.

Season the meat with salt and pepper; bone and trim very large pieces.

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a cast iron pan over high heat until very hot; brown the meat in batches without crowding, leaving each piece three or four minutes before turning until a crust forms.

Add the vegetables and cook about ten seconds; sprinkle in the flour to make a roux and cook about ten seconds over very high heat.

Stir in the tomato paste for a few seconds, then add the red wine and reduce.

Wipe the inside of the pan clean with a damp cloth before it goes in the oven.

Add the stock, then the thyme, three cloves and a teaspoon of honey.

Cook in a 170C convection oven for an hour and a half, up to two hours, until the meat falls apart with a fork.

Lift out the meat and strain the sauce; the base ragout can be frozen at this point.

Variation: add a tin of tomatoes and twigs of rosemary to the sauce and meat and simmer 10 minutes.