Coda Alla Vaccinara Food

ROMAN BRAISED OXTAIL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Set a roasting pan over medium heat. Peel and dice the carrot, onion, and half the celery (including leaves). Add oil to the roasting pan, followed by the vegetables and the pancetta. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are soft and pancetta begins to crisp up, 15 minutes.
• Season oxtail with salt and pepper on both sides. Nestle into the roasting pan alongside the vegetables in an even layer to brown. Brown 5 minutes per side, then continue cooking another 5 minutes.
• Remove oxtails to a platter. Add tomato paste to the roasting pan, and stir to deglaze, 1-2 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high, add wine, and stir, making sure to scrape up all of the brown bits from the bottom, 1-2 minutes. Add tomato purée, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. Place oxtails back in the pan in a single layer. Braise in the oven, uncovered, 1½ hours. (Oxtails will be braised for a total of 2 hours or more.)
• After 1½ hours, remove oxtails from oven. Slice remaining celery stalks (including leaves) into 3-inch-by-¼-inch strips. Add celery and marjoram. Turn oxtails over. Place back in the oven to braise for 30 minutes more.
• Oxtails are done when the meat is fork tender. To serve, place oxtails on a large platter with the sauce and the celery. Serve immediately.

CODA ALLA VACCINARA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a saute pan, add the olive oil, carrot, onion, and celery with minced garlic and bay leaves. Heat mixture until the vegetables start to sweat. Sprinkle oxtails with salt and pepper and add to the vegetable mixture. Add the wine and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until the wine evaporates. Add the cocoa and vegetable stock. Transfer mixture to a heatproof casserole.
• Cover the casserole and bake in the oven slowly for 2 hours.
• Check whether there is too much stock remaining and if so, turn up heat until excess stock evaporates. Add the tomatoes and cook for 40 minutes with cover on. Check and stir occasionally.
• To make the garnish: Place the water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Clean and cut the carrots and celery into 1/4-inch julienne sticks. Salt the water and cook the celery and carrot sticks together al dente, about 2 minutes. Drain. Saute the vegetables with extra- virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper.
• Remove pieces of oxtail from the casserole, and put them in a warming dish. Take the sauce that is left in the casserole dish and pass it through a blender.
• To serve: place the oxtail pieces on plates and cover generously with the sauce. On the top, place the carrots and celery garnish, and decorate with the chopped basil leaves.

OXTAIL BRAISED WITH TOMATO AND CELERY (CODA ALLA VACCINARA)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a deep, heavy casserole or pot that can fit all the oxtails in one layer, combine pancetta, carrot, onion and diced celery and enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan (about 3 tablespoons).
• Place pan over medium heat and cook until pancetta renders its fat, about 15 minutes. Season oxtails on all sides with salt and pepper, add to the casserole and brown well on all sides, turning them only after they've browned. Using tongs, remove oxtails from pan and place in a bowl. Set aside.
• Add the tomato paste to the vegetables in the casserole and cook, stirring, until paste caramelizes, about 2 minutes. Stir in wine and mix. Heat to boiling and cook 3 minutes. Add marjoram, cloves and cinnamon and then tomatoes, squishing them between your fingers as they fall into the pan.
• Return oxtails to pan. Liquid must be as high as one-third of the ingredients. If not, add a little water. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover pan and place in oven. Braise for 1 1/2 hours, turning the oxtails now and then.
• Add the remaining celery, then continue cooking until the meat is tender and falling off the bone, about 30 to 60 minutes longer.
• Remove the pan from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve on a large platter or in shallow bowls, making sure everyone gets a bit of the pulpy sauce and celery.