gwendoline cuisine: from Oxtail a la Colombiana to Boeuf Ficelle

Actually this can take a couple of posts and three days..
I'm having Hubert and Sylvie for lunch and we are in the southwest of France , where food is talked about all day , all night , all year...you get the picture...So I always try to cook something special and I've ordered a super de luxe beef fillet to do a "boeuf ficelle" which is basically poached beef in broth...But HA not any broth...a super de luxe home made broth hence the oxtail!
Which I will use for the broth and then cook a la colombiana..
It sounds like a bad TV series but I promise it will be worth the read..

DAY ONE

Ingredients for the broth

perfect oxtail

A nice oxtail cut and tied
Two or three bones (ask your butcher they come for free)
Two carrots peeled and halved
One fat leek cut in half
two stems of celery cut in three pieces
Three small whole turnips or a big one cut in four pieces
Two whole unpeeled onions grilled in the oven for about 20 minutes
Four cloves ,a stem of rosemary, a laurel leaf , a sage leaf , a tea spoon of hot chile , coarse salt

free bones from the butcher

vegetables

grilled onions to color the broth

Plonk the meat and the bones in a big pot and add COLD water.

Then bring to a boil while skimming like mad the revolting foam,this is the key to a perfect broth!
When the skimming is done and the liquid boils happily throw in all the rest of the ingredients , put the lid on ,keep the pot on a low fire and forget about it for the next four hours.
then once cooled put it in the fridge overnight.As it's cold outside it stands on the window sill.

DAY TWO

The next morning you declare war on grease...Most of it has risen to the surface and is easy to discard but still the broth has to be strained through a sieve and cloth.

discard the vegetables,the carrots are perfect for the dog , keep the ox tail aside degrease and shred it.

for the master

for the king

ingredients for the oxtail a la colombiana

shredded ox tail
One onion
A cup of concentrated tomato paste
Half a glass of white wine
A tea spoon of sugar
A dash of hot chile
Some broth
coriander or parsley to give a nice touch of green

Brown the onion in olive oil , a splash of white wine , then mix in tomato paste, sugar and chile.
Add the meat, cover and cook on low fire for about an hour adding some broth if needed.
Serve with a sprinkle of herbs. My neighbor Michelle made some "escoton" which is the french south west cousin of italian polenta but you can opt for polenta or rice or mashed potatoes...
Anything gooey that absorbs the sauce!

Enjoy!

DAY THREE

Now today lets get down to serious business!
Boeuf ficelle served with boiled vegetables and a salmoriglio sauce.I could have done the typical green sauce , or a tomato sauce or horseradish...But I decided to live dangerously and try a new recipe!!!

ingredients

A nice piece of beef filet tied up
A bunch of carrots
A bunch of turnips
Half a kilo of small potatoes
A bunch of parsley and a few leaves of fresh oregano
A garlic clove
The juice of two lemons
A glass of olive oil
Coarse salt on the table

Actually as far as the vegetables are concerned you can use whatever you fancy...
leeks , onion , cabbage , celery ...ect
The leftover vegetables will make a nice soup so figure out yourself the quantities...The broth can be used for a wonderful risotto...
Boil the vegetables in the broth for about half an hour.
Prepare a sturdy wooden spoon to hang your meat , the broth must be boiling and the meat should be poached without touching bottom or sides of the pot.
If you like your meat red , it takes about 25 minutes for three pounds.

salmoriglio sauce

whisk a glass of olive oil adding slowly a glass of tepid water , then the lemon juice , when the mix looks quite thick add the chopped parsley,garlic and oregano.then heat the sauce on a slow fire always whisking for about five minutes , it's ready ! and it was a great success , a very light sauce to remember , it should also go well with grilled fish , or any adventurous barbecue.