I have been playing around with cheap cuts for a while now but I think this is my favourite. It's normally found in the supermarket with the unpopular offal or pet food and I can't understand why. This dish is incredibly rich and luxurious and has a flavour quite different to a regular beef stew. I love to cook it for large groups of friends or family as it's really straight forward and requires little effort, although tastes as if I've been slaving away for hours.

OXTAIL RAGU & PAPPARDELLE 

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

800 grams of Oxtail
1 onion, finely diced
2 carrots, finely diced
2 sticks of celery, diced
1 tablespoon of butter
1 can of diced tomatoes
1/4 cup of red wine
3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 cup of beef stock
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh thyme
2 dried bay leaves
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
350 grams of pappardelle pasta, fresh or dried
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan to garnish

METHOD

Turn the oven on to bake at 160°C.

Place a heavy based casserole dish on the stove top on a low/medium heat. Add the butter, onions, celery and carrots and sauté until softened but not browned. 

Increase the heat and add the oxtail, cook until meat has browned. Add the tomatoes, wine, worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, thyme, garlic and stock and cook until it begins to simmer. 

Place the casserole dish in the oven with the lid on and cook for four hours. Check on it regularly to make sure it's not becoming too dry or catching on the bottom. If so add a 1/4 cup of water and stir. 

Once the meat is falling off the bones the pasta needs to be cooked. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook pasta according to packet instructions.

Remove the bones from the ragu and pull the shreds of meat apart with two forks. This should leave you with a thick meaty sauce. Oxtail is a fatty cut of meat so it's best to skim off any excess oil from the top. Season with salt and pepper and stir through fresh parsley. 

Serve pasta with meat sauce and finish with finely grated parmesan.

This dish pairs nicely with a rocket salad.