For the love of food and other stories

Passport & Plate - South African Oxtail

South Africa | Friday, March 14, 2014 | 5 photos

Ingredients
• 1 tin butterbeans
• 1kg oxtail, segmented
• flour, seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions peeled and chopped
• 4 carrots – peeled and chopped
• 3 potatoes- peeled and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 250ml (1 cup) red wine
• 500ml (2 cups) beef stock
• 4 tablespoons tomato purée
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp teaspoon dried parsley
• A pinch of salt

 

How to prepare this recipe
1.
Over a medium heat, sauté the, onion and garlic in the olive oil in a large casserole pot until the onion is lightly browned
2.
In a frying pan, warm a little vegetable oil until very hot, then dust the oxtail with the seasoned flour and sauté until golden brown
3.
Add the sautéed oxtail, stock, tomato puree, wine, bay leaves, thyme, parsley sugar and a good pinch of salt to the casserole pot
4.
Bring to the boil, partially cover the pot with a lid, then reduce the heat and leave to simmer for 4 hours, occasionally skimming off any fats that rise to the surface ( make sure that it doesn't reduce so add water at intervals if necessary )
5.
Add in the carrots, sugar beans and potatoes and continue to simmer for another 30 until the meat easily comes away from the bone
6.
Serve with rice, broccoli and fresh bread.

 

The story behind this recipe
This meal will always be special to me because it is nostalgic of Sunday afternoon family dinners on the patio under the African twilight sky. I would watch as my mother, beautifully adorned in a traditional African print sarong, serves the food and passes it down the table. Graciously spooning every mouth full of the food, she prepared with her own hands, with pride. The deliciously soft and succulent oxtail that took her 5 hours to cook is placed alongside the spicy green spinach that she picked from her own garden and pap (a traditional polenta like food made from ground maize) is added to finish off the meal. The sunset casts a pinkish orange halo upon everything. As we dive into the hearty meal a warm breeze lifts a carries the mouth-watering scent throughout the street bringing a smile to my face that such a delightful scent could come from my house. My sister and I share a look as my mother begins to share one of her childhood stories. Recounting how when she was younger she would cook oxtail for her siblings only on the most special occasion and that we also would one day cook it for our husbands.
It is now a couple of years later and the sound of laughter and conversation that fills the air is supported by the rhythms of the Afro-fusion South-African band, Freshlyground. Just like the band freshlyground this meal is a true representation of South Africa; a harmonious fusion of different cultures and nationalities. I decided to fuse my mother’s oxtail recipe with one that my friend got from her mom and replace the pap with basmati rice, a tasty treasure that my Indian friend passed on to me . The other nice thing about this recipe is that you can put it into the slow cooker , go to work and by the time you get home it will be cooked or you can cook it on the stove put it on low heat and go have a nice long relaxing bath. I’m very pleased with the outcome, It may have taken me 6 hours to make but this meal is well worth the wait.