Oxtail Stew

I had an embarrassing meeting with a financial advisor in the bank the other week. It was embarassing as my bank balance turned out to be far lower Than I had expected. So I've had to start saving money on food. This means no more roast beef baguettes from Pret A Manger for lunch, no more AMT coffees every morning and no more expensive cuts of meat from The Ginger Pig butcher. However, being thrifty doesn't mean I have to eat poor food as, hopefully, I'm about to prove.

Oxtail Stew (Serves 4)
1 red onion, cut in half and sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 kg oxtail (it should already be cut into sections)
2 medium carrots, sliced into four chunks
2 sticks of celery, sliced into four chunks
500ml stout (I used Shoreditch Pitfield Stout)
450ml chicken stock
1 tbsp thyme leaves
1kg potato
2 tbsp horseradish sauce

1) Pre-heat the oven to 140c. Heat a tablespoon of butter with a tablespoon of olive oil in a large casserole dish and brown the oxtail all over. Spoon it into a large bowl and set aside. Now fry the onion for five minutes, adding the garlic for the final two minutes. Throw the carrots and celery in the pan and cook fora minute or two.
2) Return the oxtail to the casserole, pour over the stout and chicken stock, add the thyme and bring to the boil. Remove the casserole from the hob and put in the oven for three hours.
3) With 20 minutes to go until the stew is cooked, peel the potatoes, cut into large chunks and boil in salted water. When they're cooked, mash with melted butter and warm milk. Season with salt and pepper and stir in a couple of tablespoons of horseradish sauce.

Oxtail might put some people off but it just tastes like beef and when it's slow cooked like this, it just falls off the bone. And considering this cost me just over £3 for a kilo of tail, you wonder why more people don't buy it. Actually when you eat it it does become obvious. It is quite fatty but this makes for a rich, gelatinous stew. Because it's so rich, you don't need much. I just had three bits of oxtail with my mash. It made enough for two dinners and two lunches, all for the same price as that aforementioned beef baguette.