SALT COD WITH BRAISED OXTAIL SAUCE AND SHALLOTS
A nice flavorful combination of several interesting ingredients. Oxtail takes about 3 hours to braise, so have that in mind when you plan this recipe.
4 servings:
Oxtail sauce:
500 g/1 lb oxtail
50 g/2 oz bacon
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of thyme
2 tbsp tomato purée
1 star anise (optional)
200 ml/6.6 fl oz red wine
300 ml/10 fl oz vegetable or beef stock
olive oil
Preheat the oven to 150 C/300 F. Brown the oxtail pieces and bacon in hot olive oil on all sides, and put them into a baking pan. In the pan where you browned the meat, add all veggies and brown them lightly. Then add tomato purée and cook for 1 more minute. Add red wine, bay leaf, thyme. and anise and reduce the volume in half. Add the stock and pour everything onto the oxtail in the baking tray. Bake in the oven for 3 hours. When finished, trim the oxtail so that you get nice pieces of meat separated from the fat and bones. Strain the liquid in the pan into a pan and reduce to a thicker consistency. Add oxtail to it, season with salt and pepper. and keep hot until you serve it.
Braised shallots:
8 shallots
1 crushed garlic clove
2 tbsp olive oil
50 g/1.6 oz/half a stick of butter
300 mL/10 fl oz vegetable or beef stock
Brown the shallots in hot olive oil together with garlic, then add butter and stock and braise on low heat under lid for 20 minutes.
Mushroom sauce:
4 average wild mushrooms
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
30 g/1 oz butter
2 tbsp olive oil
200 g/6.6 oz spinach
sauté the mushrooms, garlic, with salt and pepper on high heat in butter and oil for 1 minute, add spinach and stir, remove from heat when the spinach is wilted.
Salted cod:
Rinse the cod fillets in cold water, pat dry, and pour sea salt crystals all over the fillets on both sides. Wrap in plastic foil and refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove from the fridge, wash the salt away in plenty of cold water. Pat dry the fillet, season with pepper and fry in olive oil in a nonstick pan for about 1 minute on each side.
Serving:
Put shallots and mushrooms in the center. Put the cod over it and top with the oxtail sauce.