GLUTEN-FREE ORANGE-SCENTED OXTAIL
Flavoured with orange, and garnished with roasted walnuts, our Orange-Scented Oxtail is an excellent example of a less-utilised cut of meat, cooked slowly to produce a tender, succulent meal.
Oxtail has lots of connective tissue which, when cooked slowly, becomes soft, gelatinous and absolutely delicious. And as a secondary cut of meat it should be pretty economical too, making it a real winter dinner-winner.
Serve it straight from the pot doused in sauce as in our recipe, or take it off the bone and serve over gluten-free pasta, as a pie filling or the base for a hearty soup.
Hope you give it a try.
Rosie
ORANGE-SCENTED OXTAIL
Serves 4-6
2 kg oxtail, cut into 5-6cm pieces
2-3 oranges, juice and zest
70 ml light olive oil
2 onions, peeled and sliced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
4 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
750 ml beef or chicken stock
½ bunch flat leaf parsley, stalks only, reserve leaves for garnish
3 stalks of basil
3 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
85 ml red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons caster sugar
40 gm unsalted butter
50 gm walnuts, lightly toasted
Place oxtail in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes. Drain, rinse and drain again. Set aside.
Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest from one of the oranges in wide strips. Set two strips aside. Remove any pith from the remaining strips and cut into fine julienne.
Place in a small saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain then pat dry. Set aside.
Juice the oranges, you will need 1 cup of orange juice.
Heat oil in a large saucepan and saute the onions, carrots, celery and garlic until the vegetables are soft but not coloured.
Add the orange juice and reduce by half.
Tie the herbs together with kitchen string.
Add the tomatoes, the stock, the two wide orange zest strips, the herbs and the oxtail to the saucepan. If necessary, add enough water to just cover the oxtail. Season with salt and pepper.
Place a piece of baking paper directly on top of the oxtail then cover the saucepan with a lid.
Bring to a slow simmer and continue to cook for 3-4 hours or until the meat is very tender.
Meanwhile, combine the red wine vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan and stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and simmer until the mixture has a syrupy consistency. Remove from the heat and set aside.
When the oxtail is tender and almost falling off the bone. Remove it from the saucepan. Set aside.
The recipe can be done to this stage the day before. Refrigerate the oxtail and vegetables in their liquid separately. It is easy to remove the fat when cold.
Remove the herb bunch from the saucepan and skim the fat. Pass the vegetables and cooking liquid through the fine disk of a mouli or puree in a blender.
The recipe can also be done to this stage the day before.
When ready to serve, bring the sauce to a simmer, add half the orange zest julienne and simmer until the sauce has thickened a little. Add the red wine syrup, a teaspoon at a time, to taste, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in the butter.
Return the oxtail to the sauce just to heat through.
Transfer the oxtail and sauce to serving plates or one large platter and scatter with the remaining orange zest julienne, the roasted walnuts and reserved parsley leaves.
Serve with creamy mashed potato, runny polenta or a simple risotto and a crisp green salad or steamed green vegetables.
TIP:
Remove any leftover oxtail from the bones, mix with some sauce and serve over gluten-free pasta topped with freshly grated parmesan, finely chopped roasted walnuts and chopped parsley.