3 Stud the peeled onion with the bay leaf and cloves. Add to the saucepan.

11 Carve the beef and serve on the first cold night of the year!

4 Add the fresh thyme and the cracked peppercorns. Return to the boil and simmer for approximately one hour and 30 minutes.

5 After this time, add the peeled carrots, simmer for a further 30 minutes.

6 Meanwhile, make the dumplings. Place the sifted flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Add a large bunch of chopped parsley.

7 Add a teaspoon of horseradish.

8 Add the suet and rub the mix together to incorporate all the ingredients.

9 Bind with a little cold water to make a dough.

10 Add the dumplings to the saucepan. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the beef, the vegetables and the dumplings. Boil a little of the liquor to thicken.

For his latest best of Norfolk recipe, Richard Hughes serves up the perfect, British supper.

Food doesn’t come any more British than this month’s dish. So British, in fact, that there is even a Cockney music hall song, penned by Harry Champion, dedicated to this glorious recipe.

This is comfort food at its very best and makes these cold, winter evenings all the more bearable.

Nowadays, these sorts of dishes seem to have passed their sell by date and, for some strange reason, many cooks prefer pasta, pizza, risotto, curry, stir fry, in fact anyone else’s cuisine rather than their own.

If you invest a few pounds in a slow cooker, these kinds of dishes will doubtless enjoy a renaissance and find their way on to the supper menu with surprising regularity. The preparation can be done in as little as 10 minutes the night before and then you can leave it to cook whilst you are out for the day, and look forward to some proper food for your tea!

This is the sort of food I want to eat every day of the week and if you can rustle up some dumplings I think you have the perfect supper. I love this time of year on the kitchen calendar, when we should all be cooking up rustic, country stews, making the most of the abundant game, finishing the meal with a classic, nursery pudding.

There is no greater advocate of British food than me; though with dishes like this, I’m sure they can stand up for themselves!

Step by Step with Richard Hughes: Clever Cooking in Simple Stages is priced �20 and is available from: www.thelavenderhouse.co.uk; Jarrold; Loose’s Cookshop; Waitrose; Borders; and most good bookshops.

Ingredients

Feeds six good appetites

1 x 3kg joint of salted silverside2 leeks1 head of celery2 parsnips or turnips3 medium onions2 bay leaves4 cloves1 good bunch thyme�tsp cracked peppercorns12 small carrots

Dumplings225g plain flourPinch salt1tsp baking powderChopped fresh parsley1tsp heaped, creamed horseradish100g shredded suetApprox 80ml cold water

1 Soak the salted silverside in cold water overnight. Place in fresh, cold water and bring to the boil in a large saucepan.

2 Add the washed and cleaned leeks, celery and turnips or parsnips.