Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 35 minutes This delicious soup is just as great

Oxtail Casserole
Prep Time:
25 minutes
Cook Time:
2.5 – 3 hours
Surely one of the most perfect winter comfort foods. Oxtail, slow simmered with tomatoes, wine and vegetables to produce a rich, fragrant stew.
Ingredients(5)
- +- 1.2 kg oxtail pieces
- SPAR sunflower oil
- 30 ml SPAR butter or full fat margarine
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
- 4 stalks celery, cut into chunks
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 60 ml SPAR Italian Balsamic Vinegar
- ¾ can SPAR diced tomatoes
- 175 ml red wine
- 60 ml dry sherry
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 3 ml dried thyme
- 3 SPAR Bay Leaves
- 2 sachets liquid beef stock
- 400 ml hot water
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method
- Brown the oxtail pieces all over in a drizzling of hot oil in a pot. Lift them out and set aside.
- In the same pot, add the butter over low heat, and toss in the carrot, celery and onion over medium heat until tender.
- Add the vinegar and scrape in any flavourful residue from the meat and vegetables that adheres to the pot base.
- Pour in the remaining ingredients.
- Cover with a lid and simmer slowly for 2 ½ – 3 hours. If the liquid reduces too much, add in a little more wine. The meat should be very tender, but not quite falling off the bone.
- Remove the oxtail, and pour the liquid off into another pot, through a sieve, pressing down on the vegetables to extract the flavoursome liquid they retain. Bring the liquid to the boil and simmer rapidly until it reduces down to a shiny sauce consistency. Serve this sauce spooned over the oxtail.
Hints and Tips
- To make this dish go further add in a can of drained SPAR Cannellini Beans to the oxtail before re-heating and serving with the sauce.
- Use this same recipe if cooking over coals in a potjie pot, but expect an additional cooking time of up to an hour.
- The large onion may be substituted with a medium onion along with 2 sliced SPAR Freshline leeks when in season.