Stews

I love oxtail, but at the moment this is an illicit desire, since at the time of writing beef on the bone is an illegal substance. It’s in a spirit of optimism, then, that I give you a recipe.

Oxtail has to be cooked at least a day ahead because you’ll need to let the stew get cold so that you can degrease it properly. To tell the truth, I’m happy with the fat left in: I love the artery-thickening deep and unctuous sauce it provides. But oxtail always makes for a good gravy, always gratifyingly thickens the liquid in which it cooks. What I don’t like is oxtail which has been boned, chopped, piled into darioles or ramekins and then unmoulded artistically on the plate, surrounded by its sauce-soused vegetables. In a restaurant, that’s fine. In the home, I like food to be less messed around with. Sprinkling with parsley is one thing, sculpture is quite another. My grandfather – and mother after him – used to speak disparagingly about landscape cookery.