Oxtail Stew

When I was a kid, my mom would make an oxtail stew that was just fantastic. It was essentially an oxtail stock with a healthy dose of tomatoes and your choice of root vegetables. I liked it so much as a child that it's now one of my favorite comfort foods and it usually makes a couple appearances during the winter. The only thing is that it takes some hours to properly prepare, although a couple beers help pass the time (and flavor the stew).

A four liter portion of a larger batch. This is a parsnips and fennel version. Adding parsnips was a past innovation of my brother's which I thought was a good idea and so naturally I stole it. I also usually throw in some greens (kale, turnip greens, bok choy, whatever) a couple minutes before I eat it, usually with white rice or thick noodles. Delicious.