Zimbabwean and African Oxtail Stew | National Dish Recipe

Wayne @NationalDish — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 14:09:43 +0000

Oxtail Stew, especially when coming from Africa, is insane.

Some people get a little weird about cooking with oxtail – which I sort of get, sort of (I’m being a little polite), but they wouldn’t have an issue with oxtail soup from a can, and it tastes way better when you make it fresh.

Everyone knows, anything you cook low and slow, on the bone, is gonna be awesome, this African oxtail stew recipe is no different.

In terms of the country of origin for this oxtail stew recipe, I could have gone British, it’s very traditional. Oxtail is a fascinating ingredient, used all over the world and Sub-Saharan Africa in particular is a massive consumer and I love African cuisine, which is only going to get more popular, plus it has some spice, which = winner. I’ve tried a few and this one is from Zimbabwe.

I’ve said it’s really easy and it is. 30 mins prep and then let is sit in the oven for 3 hours. Before we get going, whack the oven on full and pop a cast iron casserole dish in there – do this first, put the kettle on too for beef stock.

Oxtail Stew Recipe

Oven is on and the casserole dish should be in there getting nice and hot - we'll roast of the oxtails for 20 minutes before adding the stew ingredients and then you can go to the pub for a couple of hours.

CourseMain Dish
CuisineAfrican, Zimbabwean
KeywordAfrica, Oxtail, Stew

Servings4 people

Prep Time30 minutes

Cook Time3 hours

Ingredients

650grams oxtailcut into chunks - as they come is fine
2whole white onionroughly chopped
2whole bay leaves
3 birdseye chilliessliced
2tbls plain flourto dust the oxtail
500ml beef stockboil the kettle up front and get this ready
3cloves garliccrushed or finely chopped
1tin chopped tomatoes400g tin will do it
2 green pepperde-seeded and chopped into handy chunks
1tsp curry powderyup, gives it a slightly different angle - this one is rather important
1tsp thymefresh is ideal but dried will do - just don't leave it out
2tbls tomato puree

Instructions

Ok, before we start chopping everything up, let's sort the oxtail out. The casserole dish should be in the oven and either getting very hot or already is. In this order, oil the oxtail and then season generously with Maldon Sea Salt and dust with the flour.
Pull the hot casserole dish out of the oven and put on the hob, add a couple of tablespoons of oil and then add all the oxtail (or in batches). Put the lid on and place back into the oven for 20 minutes - no more though, lets not burn the oxtail. During this time you can prep the other ingredients - do the beef stock first. You can seal it on the hob too, but I found this way gives the Oxtail a better finish.
Pull the casserole pot out of the oven and turn the heat down to 140 degrees. Remove the oxtail and put aside and place the casserole dish on hob, medium heat. The Oxtail should be gnarly leaving behind some tasty fat for the next step.
Add all the onions and fry for 5 minutes and then add the garlic, chillies, green pepper, thyme, curry powder and tomato puree. Stir and fry for another few minutes, gently until soft. Then add all the beef stock and bayleaves.
Give it a good stir and add the oxtail back in, push below the surface of the sauce (top up with water if you need to) and replace the lid. Place into the oven for 3 hours at 140 degrees. Check it hourly and prevent it drying out by adding more water.
You'll then have a deep bath for the Oxtail, ready to go in the oven - you can then chill. Won't hurt to check it half way through, to make sure you haven't lost too much liquid.
After three hours the meat should have been falling off the bones and you should have plenty of sauce - it serves wonderfully with white rice, but that's up to you - why not just grab a bowl and crusty bread?
Thank you Zimbabwe, Africa

The post Zimbabwean and African Oxtail Stew | National Dish Recipe appeared first on National Dish.

How do you make Swedish Meatballs in a Cream Sauce? | Köttbullar | What is the national dish of Sweden?

Wayne @NationalDish — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 16:01:06 +0000

The national dish of Sweden is meatballs in a cream sauce
Photograph: Wayne Morgan – nationaldish.co.uk © 2017

Thanks to IKEA, Swedish Meatballs is probably the most likely National Dish to spring to mind. The local name for it, Köttbullar, quite literally translates as meatballs – and it really is that simple. How do you make Swedish Meatballs?

The recipe here, köttbullar med gräddsås, meatballs with cream sauce, is wintry, rich and comforting, best served in a bowl and eaten with a spoon, they are that soft.

Often it is served with mashed or boiled potatoes and pickled vegetables – I’ve opted for the latter, to try to keep it light – plus the sweet vegetable vinegar helps to cut through the richness of the sauce.

Köttbullar med gräddsås | Swedish meatballs with a cream sauce

This is a pretty straight forward recipe for Swedish Meatballs, not quite fast food, but easy enough you don't have to fuss too much.

CourseMain Dish
CuisineSwedish

Servings2

Prep Time15 Mins

Cook Time40 Mins

Ingredients

Main stuff

150g beef mince
150g pork mince
1whole white onionfinely diced

For the sauce

150ml double creamyou can substitute this with sour cream
2tbls plain flourhave a sieve handy? Grab that.
25g buttersalted is best
Fistful parsleyas much or little as you like - chuck half in the sauce and the rest over the finished dish
300ml beef stockget this ready in advance

Spices and stuff

1tsp allspice
1tsp ground black pepper
1tsp nutmeggrated
1clove garliccrushed, don't bother to peel, just use a garlic crusher

Instructions

For the meatballs

Put both the beef and pork mince in to a mixing bowl.
Add the butter, half the egg, pepper, salt, garlic, allspice, nutmeg and onion. Basically, lob it all in.
Get in there with your hands, it's the only way, and mix it up good.
If you feel it's not wet enough to mould into balls that will stay formed, add a little more egg - just don't make it too wet, otherwise - well, just don't, the sound alone will put you off.
Roll the mixture into evenly sized balls, just smaller than a squash ball.
Heat a pan, medium high heat and brown them off on all over and then set aside.

For the sauce

Get some beef stock on the go, about 300ml.
Using the same pan that you browned the meatballs in, add the butter. As it melts, add the flour - sieving it prevents lumps and make it slightly easier. Mix the flour and butter with a whisk to form a roux.
Once smooth, add the cream with a few twists of pepper.
Mix together and add half the parsley.

Pull it together

There are two ways you can do this. Either, add the meatballs to the sauce in the pan, cover and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes (don't let it catch).
Or the way I've done it here, pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees (360 farrenhiet).
Pour the sauce into an oven dish (big enough to accommodate all the balls with overcrowding) and place the meatballs in with their top surface uncovered.
Put in the oven for 15 mins and you get a slightly crunchier top on the meatballs whilst they've poached in the sauce.
Take out, throw the rest of the parsley over the top and serve with some pickled vegetable and a few dollops of Dijon - I added a little raw red cabbage on the side.
Thank you Sweden

Tack

The post How do you make Swedish Meatballs in a Cream Sauce? | Köttbullar | What is the national dish of Sweden? appeared first on National Dish.

plain flour Archives | National Dish

Zimbabwean and African Oxtail Stew | National Dish Recipe

How do you make Swedish Meatballs in a Cream Sauce? | Köttbullar | What is the national dish of Sweden?