Loin of veal with red onions

Serves 6-8

Loin of veal with red onions (Jason Lowe)

There is some great welfare-friendly British rose veal on the market now which has a much better flavour generally than the imported veal. You will need to order this in advance from your butcher and either tie it in a roll or just leave it as it is.

1 loin or rib of veal weighing about 1.5 kg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
A couple of tablespoons of olive oil
A few sprigs of rosemary
5-6 medium-sized red onions, halved with the skin on

Preheat the oven to 220C/gas mark 7. Season the veal, heat a large, heavy-based frying pan or a roasting tray with a little oil and brown the veal on a high heat on both sides.

Place in a roasting tray with the halved onions and drizzle with some olive oil. Cook for 30 minutes, then turn the oven down to 180C/gas mark 5, scatter over the rosemary and cook for another 30 minutes, basting every so often.

Insert a point of a knife in the centre of the veal and if it's hot it's cooked – veal needs to be kept on the pink side to get the best out of it.

Serve the veal in 1cm-thick slices with the pan juices and onions. You can pour a little wine and butter in the pan and boil it up on a medium heat for a couple of minutes if you want to create a simple, natural sauce.