Slow Cooking Day…
So I let my husband do the weekly shopping as I was away on a writers’ meeting on Saturday. Naturally, he returned with a joint of pork, bacon, sausages, a red cabbage, a bag of green kale and—an oxtail.
Sheesh.
Try as I might, green kale and red cabbage clash, horribly. But I’m currently slow-frying one of the butcher’s enormous sausages (they take a good half-hour to cook) and it gave me an idea. Colcannon is essentially mashed potato with green kale. It complements sausages and onions perfectly. To underline the slight bitterness already present in this dish, I’d colour ordinary onions instead of slowly caramelising the red kind to the consistence of jam. I’ll be boiling the kale shortly, but this dinner will actually happen on Wednesday, after we’ve finished the roast pork and that damn oxtail that was taking up too much room in the freezer. So, first the oxtail.
(It is my hope that eating fatty dishes with mashed potatoes for three days in a row will put off my hubby from buying more stodgy winter food during this beautiful spring we’re having. Roll on steamed fish and salad…)
1 oxtail; ca. 200g each: carrot, leek (you can use the green parts and reserve the white for later, see below), onion, celery (or ¼ celeriac, boiled)
Seal the tail pieces on all sides, then lift out of the pan and fry the chopped veg until coloured. Alternatively, I roasted the oxtail in the oven along with the Sunday roast.
1tsp dried thyme; 2 bayleaves; 1-2 cloves garlic (crushed)
add to the pan to fry off.
1 glass red wine
pour over and reduce.
1 tin peeled tomatoes; flavourings (worcester sauce, tabasco, dried soaked porcini mushrooms, mushroom ketchup, soy sauce—amount and combination to taste); ½ stock cube; 10 pepper corns (whole or slightly crushed); 2 tablespoons chopped parsley (or equivalent whole sprigs/stalks)
Stir into pan, then top up with water to just cover. Bring to the boil.
You now have a choice of transferring the pan to the oven for 3 hours (170° C) or to a slow cooker (‘hi’ for 6 hours or ‘lo’ for up to ten—this can be made overnight).
Lift out the meat and test that it comes off the bone easily. Strain the liquid into a dish and press the vegetables through the sieve—this will thicken the sauce and improve the taste. Cool and chill both separately. Skim off the fat.
Return the meat to a pot and cover with the sauce. If necessary, thin a little with water, but with a tight-fitting lid, the meat will warm in the steam so it’s not cecessary to cover it.
6-8 Chantenay (small) carrots or 2 medium carrots, but into rounds; 1-2 sticks celery; 4-6 shallots or 1 onion, roughly chopped; white parts of two leeks
Press down among the tail pieces and simmer gently until vegetables are al dente, about 15 minutes.
Garnish with chopped parsley and serve with mustard mash and red cabbage.
Tags: 'Round the World Recipes, Cooking, Food, Recipes, Tadley Times, Tag Index
Denni