Beef braised in red wine with braised carrots and brown-braised onions

Make the marinade: thinly slice a cup each of carrots, onions and celery, and take two unpeeled garlic cloves, two bay leaves, about a tablespoon of thyme and a quarter cup of minced parsley.

Trim the silver skin and much of the fat off the rump roast and tie it with twine.

Season the beef with salt and pepper.

In a Dutch oven, layer half the vegetables, the beef, the rest of the vegetables, the herbs and the garlic cloves.

Add the red wine, half a cup of olive oil and a third of a cup of brandy, cover and refrigerate overnight, turning and basting the meat every hour or so.

Transfer the beef to a rack and let it dry half an hour; it will not brown if it is not dry.

Heat the oven to 350F.

Bring four cups of water to a simmer, add the pork rind in big strips, cook 10 minutes, then strain and rinse.

Heat four to six tablespoons of pork fat in the Dutch oven over medium-high; once it is just at the point of smoking, add the beef.

Brown the beef on each side, around 15 minutes in total, rotating it with wooden spoons, then set it on the rack.

Pour out the browning fat, keep the heat on and pour in the wine marinade.

Reduce the marinade to about half with the beef in the pot.

Add beef stock until it comes two thirds up the side of the beef, then add the pork skin and the bones.

Bring to a simmer and skim.

Cover and braise at 350F for two and a half to three hours, turning the meat over and checking it as it goes.

Peel and slice two pounds of carrots.

Bring 350 ml of water to a boil in a sauce pan with a tablespoon of sugar, half a teaspoon of salt and one and a half tablespoons of butter, then add the carrots.

Cover and keep at a slow boil 30 minutes, with the lid off for the last 10 minutes so the liquid evaporates and the carrots turn tender.

Tie a bay leaf, a quarter teaspoon of thyme with a couple of sprigs, and four parsley sprigs into a small cheesecloth bouquet.

Heat one and a half tablespoons each of butter and oil, add the pearl onions and roll them around 10 minutes.

Add half a cup of beef stock, the herb bouquet, salt and pepper, cover and simmer slowly 40 to 50 minutes.

The beef is done when a fork pierces it easily; remove the trussing string and keep it warm.

Strain the braising juice into a bowl through a sieve, discard the bones and pig skin and squeeze the remaining juices out of the vegetables.

Separate off the fat, return the juice to the pot and bring it to a simmer, skimming.

Stir one tablespoon of cornstarch into two tablespoons of Madeira wine and add the slurry to the sauce.

Reduce to three and a half cups, season with salt and pepper and keep skimming.

Simmer three minutes, add the onions and carrots and simmer two more minutes.

Plate the meat, remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and arrange them around it, strain the sauce once more and scatter parsley over.