Rippin' Another Blog: Ox Tail Soup

The Lowdown:

As a kid I always wondered what ox tail soup was. Using an actual ox tail seemed more like a tall tale. Of course, now I've realized that ox tail soup is actually made of ox tails. A suiting name I suppose. Really, what else could you call a soup that is made of ox tail other than ox tail soup?

Up until now, I've passed by ox tails everytime I went to the grocery store since time began. Of course time began approximately 10 years ago. I'm going to refer to this era as PP, or the post-parental era. It was the beginning of this era when I started figuring out that grocery shopping wasn't as much fun as it used to be. When you were young, you could sneak whatever you wanted into the cart. This of course was assuming you were sly enough to avoid detection. The only consequence was that pseudo feeling of guilt when you got busted at the checkout line. But in all seriousness, who could blame us? Count Chocula was in fact a food group back then. Well, maybe not for me. I was forced to eat Harvest Crunch because it had less sugar.

The years from 0 PP to 5 PP were tough years. Learning the ropes in the grocery store was a new skill that I had to acquire... Budgeting. Damn you budgeting! They were tough lessons indeed. I mean really, how much Mr. Noodle can you eat before your sick of it. Actually, I still love it, but still. However, things have changed for the better, and now during 9 PP I am finally going to tackle ox tail soup. Well, perhaps it took Noelle from The Joyful Table to teach this not so ol' dog a new trick.

The Playlist:

1 kg Ox tails

2 cups Red wine

2 Onions, quartered

3 stalks Celery, chopped

3 Carrots, chopped

2 tbsp Salt

3-5 Bay leaves

Pepper, to taste

Water

1/2 cup Barley (optional)

The Skinny:

1. Add all the ingredients, except barley, into a large pot and cover with enough water to fully submerge all the ingredients, then some. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling lower heat and simmer for 6-8 hours.
2. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Once cooled, skim the layer of fat off of the surface then strain, saving the liquid broth and the ox tails. If desired, you may remove the meat from the ox tail bones. If not, put the ox tails back into the broth.
3. Add barley and reheat. Simmer until barley is cooked. Serve warm. 

Stay Rad -h
Featured on: Premeditated Leftovers, 33 Shades of Green, Chef in Training, Food Renegade, 

RPI: Moroccan Goat & Date Tagine

The Lowdown:

What the heckers is a tagine, is probaby what you are thinking right now. I was thinking the same thing about two weeks ago. I was also thinking the same thing 4 years ago when I went into a Moroccan restaurant (that sadly closed down recently). If it weren't for the lovely device known as the interweb I would still have no idea. After all, books are archaic and require actual work to read. Right. A tagine (tajine) is a term commonly used when describing an assortment of Moroccan dishes that are cooked in, you guessed it, a tagine. It is a earthenware piece of cookware that is shaped like a cone or a te-pee set on top of a round, thick-brimmed base. The shape was designed so that all of the condensation from the steam would trickle back down into the base, where the main components of the meal are. When finished, the top of the tagine is removed for serving. Of course, now we will most likely use a modern pot or cast iron sauce pan.  Yes, this concludes the history lesson.

It's just like green eggs and ham, said Sam I Am. He was a bit skeptical at first, but when he finally gave in it was heaven. I felt the same way. I always do when I'm trying something new. Success and failure never enter my mind while cooking. That is a minor consequence. I mainly think about the possibilities. Now, I will eat tagine in a house, I will eat tagine with a mouse; I will eat tagine with a fox, I will eat tagine in a box. Enough of that, Dr. Suess has left the building folks.

I feel that this is one dish where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The beauty of this dish comes from the simplicity. Simplicity is often one of my key goals. To do this, I always try to understand the basic ingredients, so that their flavours have a huge x-rated orgy and produce flavourful, robust dishes. Elegance is highly over-rated. Flavour orgies are in.

After doing a bit of research, Moroccan cuisine has four major spices (pepper, salt, ginger, and turmeric). Freshness and patience is the key. A bit of luck goes a long way as well. While hunting and foraging today, I found fresh green peppercorns, which added a beautifully robust flavour to the overall sensation of this dish. Seriously, when was the last time you saw fresh peppercorns?

I am a spice whore. I am a flavour monger. I am a heat trollop. But this dish, despite being mind-blowingly simple, exceeded all my expectations. I even resisted the urge to throw cayenne pepper in just to add a bit of heat ( this was really rare for me). Despite this, as I have said before, I enjoyed this dish immensely. Add the honey dates and almonds on top and you are entering a whole new realm of awesomeness.

The Playlist:

1 kg Goat meat (can substitute lamb or beef)
2 medium Onions, minced
5 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Tomato, chopped (optional)
2 Carrots, chopped (optional)
2 sticks, Cinnamon
2 tbsp Ginger, minced
2 tbsp Green peppercorns, fresh
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp White pepper (optional)
1/4 cup Canola oil
2 1/2 cups Water
1 hand full Cilantro sprigs, tied

2 cups Dates, pitted
3 tbsp Honey
3 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 cup Almonds, fried 

The Skinny:

1. In large pot: brown goat meat with the onion, oil, and spices (crush half of the green peppercorns in a mortar and pestle to release their fragrance). Add water and cilantro and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Cover with a tight fitting lid and allow to cook for 1 hour.
2. Remove 1/2 cup of the simmering liquid and set aside. Add more water if it appears that the simmering liquid is drying out. Cover and allow to cook for 1 hour longer. The meat should be "fall off the bone" tender when it is finished.
3. In small sauce pan: add the 1/2 cup simmering liquid, dates, honey, and cinnamon and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Remove the lid from the tagine and simmer down the liquid until it is the desired consitency.
5. Serve warm, and add dates and almonds as per individual taste.

Featured on: 33 Shades of Green, Premeditated Leftovers, Food Renegade, Chef in Training,

Stay Rad -h

Braised Beef Short Ribs w/ Espresso & Guiness Reduction

The Lowdown:

Let's just say the dinner party turned more party than dinner. For that reason I am posting late, and it's going to be short and sweet because all I really want to do is go get a frosty and spicy "chicken" burger from Wendy's. On a brighter note, we did discover a great bottle of wine for under $10. For any Americans reading this, that is a good deal in Canada. It's a Spanish wine by the name of Lujuria, and it packs a punch that is much more expensive than you pay for. But let's not kid ourselves, it has a cool picture on the label and that's why I bought it. I'm not claiming to be any sort of wine expert, but I do know a cool label when I see one. The price was right as well.

Lujuria: $10

Short Ribs: $7

Potatoes: $3

Making an ass of yourself in front of your girlfriend's coworkers: Priceless.

This is our 3rd installment of RPI. If you need to refresh your memory about what RPI is you can look at it under the Rock Paper Ingredient tab on the top bar. As always I won it, but this time I chose a better ingredient. Espresso! Yayayayayayyayayayayayayaya! (that's how I would react if I had one right now. Just like the coffee scene in Starsky and Hutch. God I just love this coffee). As per usual, I left it till the very last day. This time; however, it worked in my favour. As I was perusing through the store, hopelessly trying to think of something to make, I stopped by the meat section and short ribs were on sale for half off! If I weren't so lazy and my brain wasn't currently trying to implode in my head (blasted wine I tell you) I would write a short essay on how much I love short ribs. Instead I'm just going to state it: I love short ribs. Did I mention that I won RPI again?

The dinner party was a great success. The girls all played on their phones, and the men made fun of them. The first course was a chipotle stuffing risotto w/ a golden plum, ginger, and cranberry chutney. The main course was the braised beef short ribs served with turmeric smashed potatoes (to make them yellow so that they would really contrast with the reduction), white wine braised red chard, and the espresso reduction.

The Playlist:

(Printable Recipe)

6 Beef short ribs, bone in.

3 tbsp, Olive oil.

2 stalks Celery, chopped.

2 Carrots, chopped.

1 Onion, chopped.

5 cloves Garlic

2 Roma tomatoes, chopped.

2 cups Red wine (fuller body = better).

1 can Tomato paste.

2 Bay leaves.

1 sprig Sage (4-5 leaves).

1 tsp Basil, dried.

1 tsp Paprika.

Salt & Pepper.

250 ml Cream

1 bottle Stout (Guinness will do).

6 oz Espresso
6 tbsp Honey

1 tbsp Corn Starch

3 oz water

The Skinny:

1. Put a generous amount of salt and pepper on each short rib.
2. Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium-high (ensure it is oven safe) and brown short ribs on both sides.
3. While ribs are browning add all of the vegetables, onion, and garlic into a blender and blend until a thick paste forms. Add a bit of the wine if it is required to get the blades moving.
4. Remove ribs from the pan and add the vegetable paste.
5. Allow the vegetable paste to thicken, stirring occasionally (about 15 minutes).
6. Add the wine, sage, basil, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and tomato paste and allow enough time to reduce the sauce by half.
7. Add ribs back into the sauce, cover the pan, and put into the oven for 3 hours 30 minutes.
8. Turn the ribs over when half of the time has elapsed and add water if the paste has thickened too much.
9. Remove the lid when only 30 minutes remains to allow the ribs to brown (I now have two blisters on my fingers so remember to use oven mitts).
10. Add the stout, espresso, and cream into a large sauce pan and heat up slowly until it gently boils and mix periodically.
11. Allow for 1/2 to 3/4 of the liquid to reduce then add the corn starch and water until desired consistency is reached.
12. Remove ribs from braising liquid and serve.

The braising liquid can be used in a pasta sauce or minestrone soup, so don't worry about wasting it. 

Stay Rad - H

Featured in: Shine Your Light,  Miz Helen's Country Cottage, Mandy's Recipe Box, Naptime Creations