Ingredients
- Serves 6
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1kg beef oxtails, trimmed of fat
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 red chilli, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 500ml red wine
- 400ml tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 lt beef stock
- 3 tbsp crème fraiche
- 1 tsp Marmite
- Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan over a high heat, and seal the oxtails until browned on all sides, then remove them and set aside. Deglaze the pan with sherry vinegar, then reduce the heat, add the onion, red pepper, garlic, chilli, cumin seeds and paprika. Stir and season. Pour in the wine and bring to the boil. Simmer for five minutes. Return the oxtails to the pot along with the chopped tomatoes and beef stock. Once it has returned to the boil, cover the pot and cook in the oven at 150 degrees Celsius/gas 2, for three hours.
Once it has cooled down completely, refrigerate the pot overnight (when chilled, the fat will collect on the surface, so you can skim it off).
To finish the dish, strip the meat from the oxtails, discarding the bones, while you reheat and blitz the broth to a soupy consistency. Blitz half the meat to a fine crumb texture, while leaving the other half in shreds, before returning all the meat to the soup. Taste and season before serving in piping hot bowls with crème fraiche mixed with Marmite.
