Spiced Xmas beef

I'm thinking of making this recipe as it's one you can make a few days in advance and have in the fridge as a standby.  In fact, you HAVE to start it two weeks before Xmas.

2.5kg's topside
1 large onion,sliced
2 carrots liced
4 stalks of celery, sliced
600lms beef stock
150mls port or red wine

Marinade

1 tea perppercorns
1 tea mustard seeds
1/2 tea nutmeg
large pinch of powdered cloves
1 tbsp dried rosemary
1 tea thyme
225g darlk brown sugar
225 grams salt
8 bay leaves

Crush seeds in blender, mix with spices and sugar.

Place the beef in a shallow pottery or glass dish and rub the sugar spice mixture into the meat all over.  Cover the dish and set aside in the refrigerator.

After three days mix half the salt with the bay leaves and rub the mixture all over the meat.  Cover the dish and leave in the fridge  for another 24 hours.  then rub in the remaining salt.  Cover and leave in the fridge for 11 days turning every day.

On the 15th day remove the meat from the brine, wipe off all the spices and wipe3 it all over with a damp cloth.

Heat the oven to 140.  Place the meat in a dish, arrange the vegetables around it and pour on the stock and port.  Cover with a lid.  Cook the meat for 4 hours.  Reove it from the over and leave the meat to cool in the liquor.  Remove the meat and place in a dish in the fridge with a weight on top for 24 hours. 

It is now ready to serve cold.

Gingerbread cake

225g plain flour
2 tea ground ginger
1 tea cinnamon
1/4 nutmeg
pinch of salt
50g  pitted dates chopped
50g crystallized ginger chopped
125g treacle
50g butter
1 egg
75g dark brown sugar
4 tbl mik
1/2 tea bicarb

Method

heat the oven to 180.

Sift the flour, ginger cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and stir in the chopped dates and ginger.

Melt the treacle and butter in a small pan.


Beat the egg and beat in the sugar.  Add the two mixutures alternalely to the dry ingredients beating all the time.  Stir the bicarb into the milk and stir into the mixture.

Pout the mixture into a 20cm square baking tin lined with baking paper.  Level the top  and bake for 45 minutes.

Stand the tin on a wire rack to coool.  Remove the cake from the in strip off the baking and w3rap the cake in foil.  Store in a tin and it will keep fresh for up to 8 weeks.