I have never really understood why or when celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day became more about food than drink, but in the spirit of exalting my Irish ancestry, I am cooking one of my favourite cheap cuts of meat, brisket, in a bit of the ruby stuff (Guinness is actually a deep red colour and not black) and lobbing on a little parsley, as a nod to the insane greenness of St Paddy’s Day.

Brisket is a cheaper cut of meat, since its open-grained texture needs long, slow cooking. However, it is definitely worth the effort as the flavour is wonderful – deep and distinctly beefy. The gravy, after long slow cooking, was quite incredible. Obviously it had deep beef and mushroom flavours, but the Guinness brought a wonderful savoury caramel flavour. To be honest, I could have quite happily ditched the beef and sat curled up with a large bowl of buttery mashed potato topped with the mushrooms and cooking liquor. Absolutely divine.

This really is a fabulous dish, and not just for Saint Paddy’s Day!

Get the Recipe: Braised brisket in Guinness with mushrooms