Zharkoye

Heat the oven to 150C/300F.

Pat the beef cubes dry and season them all over with the fine salt and the coarsely ground peppercorns.

Heat the oil in a heavy lidded casserole over high heat until it shimmers.

Brown the beef in three batches, 3-4 minutes a side, until each piece has a dark crust on at least two faces.

Never fill the pan. Meat packed in steams in its own liquid, comes out grey, and the colour and depth of the finished dish come almost entirely from this browning.

Lift each batch out onto a plate as it is done.

Turn the heat down to medium, add the butter and the sliced onions.

Cook the onions for 8-10 minutes, until soft and gold, scraping the browned residue off the base as their moisture loosens it.

Add the carrots and the parsnip and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes more, until they have given up their water and it has boiled off.

Stir in the garlic and the tomato puree and cook for 2 minutes, until the puree darkens from red to brick. Raw puree tastes tinny and stays that way through the whole braise.

Return the beef and any juices on the plate.

Pour in the hot stock, which should come to just below the level of the meat rather than covering it.

Add the bay leaves and the allspice berries and bring the pan to a bare simmer.

Cover and braise in the oven for 90 minutes.

Add the potato chunks, pushing them down into the liquid, and return the covered pan to the oven for a further 45-55 minutes.

It is done when a fork twisted in a piece of beef pulls it apart without effort and a knife slides into a potato with no resistance. Beef at this stage is either done or not; ten more minutes will not hurt it, but stopping early leaves it tough.

To serve it in the traditional way, divide everything between four clay pots after the beef comes out of the braise, top up with the liquid, and bake them covered at 160C/325F for 25 minutes.

Rest the pan off the heat with the lid on for 10 minutes, then skim the fat from the surface with a spoon.

Taste and correct the salt, which will need more than you expect after so long a cook.

Serve in deep bowls with a spoonful of smetana and the dill scattered over.