We are in that time of year that most priests love, full of marvellous feasts and memorials. As a child I used to wonder at autumn and the changing colours of the forests that line the Wye Valley, where I grew up. At this time of year I miss Wales, but I have to say that Chelsea, where I serve as Parish Priest, has its compensations.
On 4 October we celebrated the feast of St Francis of Assisi. In Francis’s part of Italy the speciality is wild boar (cinghiale), which Italian friends of mine tell me now overrun the forests. We have a similar problem in the UK with the overpopulation of deer. The NHS should serve venison: cheaper than alternative meats and better for patients.
As the days grow shorter we need a good autumn warmer, so here’s an old favourite of mine — ox cheek stew. Given the price of energy, it’s worth splashing out £50 on a slow cooker as it’ll pay for itself in no time. Otherwise, pop it into the oven at 150°C for four to five hours. The great thing about this dish is that it’s very versatile. You can serve it as a stew with a lovely buttery mash and some fine beans, or you can remove the veg and use it as a ragù served with pasta, preferably pappardelle.
It freezes beautifully, so you can have this little number in reserve, even if you’ve only been told that you’ve got people coming round at very short notice. The recipe below will serve four greedy priests or six of the People of God.
Ingredients
2 or 3 ox cheeks
2 large carrots (cut into short batons)
Sofrito — a mixture of two large celery stalks, a large onion and a large carrot, chopped small
400g banana shallots, peeled and halved
1 large leek
250g chestnut mushrooms, halved
1 small can of tomato paste
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 can good-quality jellied beef stock, or homemade
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon plain flour
1 bouquet garni (parsley, bay leaves and rosemary tied in a bundle)
2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
A generous glass of decent red wine
Salt and ground black pepper
Method
Put the oil into a heavy-based pan, heat it and add the ox cheeks. Brown on both sides, then remove and set aside.
Add the sofrito and cook on a gentle heat for five minutes. Add the carrots, leek, shallots and garlic, give everything a good stir and fry gently for another five minutes.
Take the pan off the heat, add the flour and stir in until smooth. Return to a gentle heat and add the tomatoes, tomato paste, red wine, stock jelly, salt and pepper, stirring continuously. Thin with a little water if necessary, but not too much — the vegetables and ox cheeks will add liquid as they cook.
Once you’re happy (and remember, Thomas Aquinas said that the end of human life is happiness), add the browned ox cheeks and the bouquet garni.
Transfer the mixture to a casserole dish and place it in the oven at 150°C for four to five hours, or preferably use a slow cooker on medium for six to seven hours. Towards the end of cooking, add the mushrooms and season to taste.
When the ox cheek is tender, tear it apart with two forks and remove any gelatinous fat and the bouquet garni. If you wish, set aside some of the stew, remove the vegetables and freeze it for an ox cheek ragù in reserve.
If you’re an insomniac, or if your days are quite frenetic, you can prepare this last thing at night and let the slow cooker work its magic overnight. The next day, the house will be filled not quite with the odour of sanctity, but with the next best thing.
This dish improves if you let it settle and go cold; when you reheat it, the depth of flavour will have developed beautifully. If you do this, add the mushrooms when reheating.
If you really want to go the whole hog, serve it with dumplings — thus annoying the no-carb crowd.
Do remember that the one thing the Almighty will ask you as you stand before Him on the Day of Judgement is this: “Did you enjoy my creation?” After making this, you’ll be able to say a resounding “Yes.”
