Mothered Oxtail Stew

• servings: Serves 4
• total time: 4 Hours

Ingredients

1.5kg oxtail, cut into small chunks (by your kind butcher)

2-3 heaped tbsp plain flour

60ml vegetable oil

2 red Romano or bell peppers, stemmed, deseeded and sliced

2 brown onions, peeled and sliced

4 medium carrots, scrubbed and cut into round chunks

2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated

4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 tsp ground allspice (pimento)

2 tsp paprika

2 tbsp tomato puree

250ml good-quality fruity red wine

2 400g cans (800g total) whole plum or chopped tomatoes

6 sprigs of thyme

2 bay leaves

500ml beef stock, plus extra

1-2 scotch bonnet peppers (yellow if possible), stemmed, pierced and left whole

Handful of fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

Place the oxtail in a large bowl. Pat dry and lightly dust with flour and season with sea salt and black pepper.

Place a large Dutch oven over a medium-high heat. Add enough oil to coat the base and, once hot, fry the oxtail in batches until brown on all sides. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the peppers and onions. Sauté for 7-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened and starting to take on a little color.

Stir in half of the carrots (2 carrots) and all the ginger and garlic. Put the other carrots in the fridge for later. Add the spices, tomato puree and 2 tablespoons of water and cook for 3 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Put the oxtail pieces back in the pan and stir to coat. Season with 1 teaspoon fine sea salt and ½ teaspoon freshly ground grains of paradise or black pepper, cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid sticking.

Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan, then stir in the tomatoes, herbs and the stock. Throw in as many scotch bonnets as your heart desires and increase the heat to medium-high to bring to a strong simmer.

Once a strong simmer is achieved cover with a lid and transfer to the oven for 3 hours, or until perfectly tender.

1.5 hr into it, stir the stew.

In the last 30 min, take the carrots out of the fridge to come to room temp and remove lid from Dutch Oven.

In the last 10 min, add the rest of the carrots. Then remove from oven.

Leave to cool slightly. Skim any excess oil floating on the surface. Season to perfection and serve scattered with fresh parsley alongside a steaming bowl of rice or Vanilla Mashed Potatoes and Braised Greens with Sweet Red Peppers.

Notes

From: Africana by Lerato Umah-Shaylor

PAIR WITH: Mothered Oxtail Stew + Vanilla Mashed Potatoes + spicy collared greens

“Best meal I’ve had this year” - Cult Flav