We are great fans of braising and want to share this simple, yet highly effective recipe with you, served with polenta, pappardelle pasta or creamy mashed potato over the winter months or paired with a gremolata and a salad in spring. One of the things we have grown to really appreciate with this style of cooking is its versatility – in terms of flavour and seasonality.
Serves 2-3
1 pack Carve wagyu beef oxtail (lamb shanks or oyster of lamb)
3 Tbsp Pons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 large onions or 6 shallots, diced (or preferred base, e.g. leeks, celery)
3 Tbsp Forvm Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar
2 Tbsp Sabato porcini powder
2 Tbsp La Chinata smoked paprika powder
1 bottle Sabato tomato passata
½ bottle Clos Pons Jan Petit red wine, or similar
Salt & pepper, to taste
Heat oven to 160°C, on fan bake setting.
Put the EVO into an oven-proof casserole dish and heat on the stove top to a high heat. Season the meat and sear on all sides. You are not cooking the meat in this step, just locking in the moisture.
Lower the heat, lift the meat out of the casserole and add the onions to the existing juices. Cook the onions until soft and braised, around 5 minutes. Turn the heat up slightly and add the vinegar, letting it steam and deglaze the onions.
Add the meat back into the dish, along with the porcini powder and smoked paprika. Stir to coat. Add the tomato passata, red wine and season with salt and pepper. Cover and put into the oven for around 3 hours, stirring at least once an hour.
The meat should be tender and falling off the bone and the liquid will be reduced to a gravy-style sauce. This can be served immediately or reheated in the oven a day or two later, when the flavours have developed even further.
Serve with polenta, creamy mash potato or pappardelle pasta.
Possible additions:
- Add 20g Gigante porcini when adding the powder.
- Add 2 Tbsp Salvagno pitted olives when adding the passata.
- Stir through 1-2 Tbsp Giuliano Tartufi salsa tartufata paste or 1 Tbsp Giuliano Tartufi truffle powder in the last hour of cooking.
- Drizzle with Pons or Giuliano Tartufi, black or white truffle oil.
- Sprinkle with Pons hot smoked paprika flakes.
- Stir through 1 Tbsp Callipo Nduja at any stage of cooking.
