Just pop a prepared cut of meat, perhaps with the addition of some herbs or spices, into an oven set at a low temperature for a few hours, to end up with something that is sweet, succulent and juicy. Slowcooking requires a bit of time, but that is time that you can spend doing something else, while the meat is happily roasting away in the oven.

The advantage of slowroasting, as well as the convenience of it, is that you get a wonderfully tender result from your meat, as all the fat and membrane has had time to render out, giving you that fantastic flavour and succulence. The best cuts to use for slowroasting (a bit like stewing) are the less prime cuts of meat. There would be no point in slow-roasting a fillet of beef, but there are not many things more delicious than a slow-roasted shoulder of pork or lamb, or one of my absolute favourites: slow-roasted pork belly. Do, as always, try to get the best free-range, and organic if possible, meat that you can, and make sure that it is still attached to the bone for maximum flavour.

Slow roasted shoulder of lamb with cumin seeds Serves 8-12 This is a fabulous recipe that we teach the students at the cookery school in Ballymaloe.

It is a delicious way of cooking a shoulder of lamb, and the cumin adds a delicious nutty, spicy flavour. It is also really wonderful with coriander seeds instead of the cumin (or as well as), and add some chopped fresh coriander to the gravy too.

Two tbsp cumin seeds One whole shoulder of lamb , on the bone 3.25-3.75 kg Salt and freshly ground pepper Olive oil, for drizzling For the cumin gravy:

600ml pint lamb or chicken stock One-two tsp cumin seeds, toasted (on a dry pan on a medium heat until slightly darker in colour) and ground Roux: see below . . . optional Preheat the oven to 1300C/gas mark 1. Warm the cumin seeds slightly in a pan, then crush them in a pestle and mortar (or in a plastic bag with a rolling pin). Score the skin of the meat in a diamond pattern with a sharp knife. Transfer to a roasting tin. Sprinkle the meat with salt, pepper, crushed cumin seeds, and drizzle with a little olive oil.

Roast for six-seven hours . . . this gives a delicious, juicy succulent texture (Alternatively, preheat the oven to 1600C/gas mark 3, and roast for two to twoand-a-half hours). Transfer to a serving dish and leave in a warm place while you make the gravy.

To make the cumin gravy, spoon the fat off the roasting tin. Add the stock to the remaining cooking juice. Boil for a few minutes on top of the stove, stirring and scraping the tin with a whisk to dissolve the caramelised meat juices.

Add the ground toasted cumin. To thicken slightly, whisk in a very little roux, while it is boiling. Season to taste and pour through a sieve into a gravy jug .

Carve the meat into slices and serve with the gravy and crunchy roast potatoes.

Roux Roux is made by cooking equal quantities of butter and flour together for two minutes in a pan (melt the butter first, then add the flour). You will need about one or two tsp for slightly thickening gravy, but as roux keeps for weeks in the fridge it might be worth your while to make it with 100g of butter and 100g of flour.

Slow-roasted belly of pork with fennel seeds Serves 6-8 Pork belly is such an underrated cut of meat. It slow-roasts like a dream, the result being succulent, juicy and beautifully sweet.

If you want to roast the pork even more slowly, put it in an oven preheated to 1300C/gas mark 1, and increase the cooking time to approximately four hours .

The aniseedy flavour of the fennel seeds works perfectly with the pork.

Also great to use would be a mixture of herbs (instead of the fennel) like sage, thyme and rosemary. Use really good free-range (and organic, if possible) pork.

Make sure the skin is left on the pork as this is what makes the crackling.

2.25kg pork belly, on the bone Two tbsp fennel seeds Sea salt and freshly ground pepper Preheat the oven to 1600C, gas mark 3. First, weigh the joint of meat (you will need to know the weight to estimate cooking time).

Using a very sharp knife, or a stanley knife, score the pork rind at 5mm (quarterinch) intervals, running with the grain . . . if possible ask the butcher to do this.

Put the fennel seeds in a spice-grinder or a pestle and mortar, or in a plastic bag using a rolling pin, with a big pinch of sea salt and a little pepper, and crush slightly.

Put the pork, skin-side up, on a chopping board, and press the fennel/salt/pepper mixture into the scores, all over the skin-side of the pork. Place one cm of water in a roasting tray and roast the joint on a wire rack in the tray. Allow 35 minutes per 450g. Baste every half an hour or so.

Just before the end of cooking time, remove the pork to another roasting tray, increase the oven temperature to 2300C/gas mark 8, and return the meat to the oven for 10-15 minutes, until the crackling is deep golden and crispy.

Allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving . When you put the pork back in the oven on the new roasting tray, make the gravy on the original tray.

Spoon the fat off the juices in the roasting tray, add the stock to the remaining cooking juices and boil for a few minutes on top of the stove, stirring and scraping the tray well to dissolve the caramelised meat juices.

To thicken slightly, whisk in a very little roux while it is boiling. Season to taste, pour through a sieve into a gravy jug .

Carve the meat into slices and serve with the gravy and some crunchy roast potatoes.

Overnight slow-roasted pork Serves 12-18 This is from Jamie Oliver's brilliant new book, Cook With Jamie.

This recipe only works when you have a whole shoulder so it's an ideal dish to serve when you have lots of people around. Ask your butcher to prepare you a shoulder joint from the whole shoulder as you would a shoulder of lamb.

Make sure you have a tray . . .

and an oven . . . that's big enough. Make sure the skin is left on the pork, as this is what makes the crackling.

Two tbsp fennel seeds One tbsp sea salt Two fennel bulbs, trimmed and roughly chopped Four medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped Three onions, peeled and roughly chopped One bulb of garlic, cloves unpeeled and smashed A bunch of fresh thyme 1 x 5-6kg piece of pork shoulder on the bone, preferably freerange or organic, skin scored Olive oil A bottle of white wine 565ml chicken or vegetable stock Preheat your oven to maximum. Smash the fennel seeds with the salt in a pestle and mortar until fine. Put the roughly chopped vegetables, garlic and thyme sprigs into a large roasting tray. Pat the pork shoulder with olive oil and let it sit on top of all the vegetables. Now massage all the crushed fennel seeds into the skin of the pork, making sure you push them right into all the scores to maximize the flavour. Put the pork into your preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or until it is beginning to colour, then turn your oven down to 1200C/gas mark 1/2 and cook the pork for nine-12 hours until the meat is soft and sticky and you can pull it apart easily with a fork.

Tip all the wine into the roasting tray and let it cook for another half an hour.

Once the pork is out of the oven, let it rest for half an hour before removing it to a large board. Brush off any excess salt from the meat, then mash up the vegetables with a potato masher. Add the stock to the roasting tray, put it on the heat and boil until you have a lovely, intensely flavoured gravy.

Serve with the mashed vegetables.

Granny's roast potatoes Serves 4-6 My grandmother makes the best roast potatoes, the ones that are crispy and crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Eight large potatoes (like Kerrs pinks or Golden Wonders), peeled and cut in half Olive oil, or beef dripping, or duck or goose fat Salt Preheat the oven to 2300C, gas mark 8. Drop the potatoes into boiling salted water and cook for 10 minutes. Drain off the water and shake the potatoes in the dry saucepan with the lid on . . . this makes the edges of the potatoes a bit rough.

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil (or dripping, or duck or goose fat) in a roasting tray and toss the potatoes in it, making sure they are well-coated . . . add more oil if they are not.

Sprinkle with salt and put in the hot oven for 35-55 minutes, basting (spooning the hot oil over them) every now and them. Take them out when they are golden brown and crusty. You can turn the oven down to 2000C after about 15 or 20 minutes if you think they are dark enough.

Handy hint: If these have to keep warm in the oven for any amount of time; do not cover them. If you do they will go soggy.

BOOK OF THE WEEK

Cook with Jamie, My Guide to Making You a Better Cook, by Jamie Oliver, published by the Penguin Group. This fabulous new cookbook of Jamie's is jam-packed full of delicious, yet simple and easyto-follow recipes, with lots of great photographs. It will do as the title says: it will make you a better cook. £28.99.