Onion gravy

I make this a lot. Anything with mash needs onion gravy, it’s perfect with sausages and it worked really well with the recent faggot recipe.

It’s inspired by a brilliant book – Just Like Mother Used to Make by Tom Norrington-Davies. It bears little resemblance to the original now after a few years of playing about with it, but it’s a quick, easy way to knock up really tasty gravy from scratch.

Start off by finely slicing and onion. Sweat this in butter and a little oil with a lid on the pan for about 10 minutes until the onions have softened, then without the lid for a further ten. The onions should be sweet and just starting to catch – Tom recommends red onions.

Stir through a heaped tablespoon of flour which will thicken the gravy. Add a slug of wine and stir in well. A teaspoon of mustard, a squirt of tomato puree and a good shake of Worcester sauce (about a tablespoon).

Top this up with about 400ml of stock (chicken, beef or veg) and let it simmer for another ten minutes until thick and glossy.

Dip your bread in…