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Our COVID-induced isolation has me thinking more and more about the comforts of home cooking. As the world spins around, our stoves can centre us. The simplicity of braised dishes and stews have a way of pausing some of the external stresses of life. Perhaps it is a recipe of the calming nature of the cooking process, the comforting nature of simple ingredients and the hominess of the final product. Regardless, in challenging times like we are currently facing, cooking a big batch of stew, a braised dish such as beef daube, my simplified version of cassoulet or a hearty chili on Sunday can provide a week’s worth of comfort.
Tail to nose dining
I think oxtail is the ultimate expression of nose to tail dining. How many of us cook with this under-used part of the animal? When I want a deep, rich flavour I often go to the corner of the meat shelf at my local grocery store where the lonely packages of oxtail reside.
Oxtail is exactly what you think it is, although it now more often comes from any beef cattle rather than exclusively oxen. While the idea of eating from the very backside of the animal is foreign to many of us, the beautiful flavours it imparts to a braise is undeniable. Oxtail is rich in gelatin, meaning when braised, it’s going to release a lot of rich flavours. Be warned, it’s a lot of bone relative to meat, and you need to have patience when cooking it, as it takes a lot of time to become tender, but the results are worth it.
You don’t have to exclusively use oxtail. Throw in a couple of oxtail bones when making your favourite beef stew recipe to add a little extra flavour. I guarantee the tail will fill your nose with wonderfully rich scents. In Jamie Oliver’s YouTube video (below), he gives some great ideas of how to use oxtail in multiple ways including a stew, soup, and pasta dish. I’ll add a couple more. Add chipotle peppers to braised oxtail for a smoky and warming taco filling or transform into a Jamaican inspired stew with garlic, ginger, all-spice, and hot peppers.
Gorgeously rustic galettes
Galettes are a flat round French pastry similar to a tart or pie but, unlike the others, are not filled but simply topped with fruit. I like them because unlike a pie, there is almost no way to fail when making them. They are simple, rustic and when the fruit topping is substituted with savoury elements, they can be an effortless and comforting mid-week meal.
In an upcoming article, I’ll be featuring a recipe for a blue cheese and walnut galette to match Port, a style of wine that after a two-decade-long decline in sales is positioned for a sort of rebirth. Until then you can enjoy the wondrous flavours of the butternut, orange and sage galette from Ottolenghi Flavor, a recently released cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage. As for the wine, pour yourself a glass of a rich Chardonnay or mild-mannered red.
See you next week when we'll offer more great food and drink recipes. Until then, keep following your foodie dreams.
~ Mark DeWolf
Mark DeWolf is a connoisseur of all things food and drink. He's a creative director with SaltWire and local fare is his specialty. Watch Mark whip up seasonal plates in his video series, In a Jiffy, and go deeper with food trends and kitchen challenges weekly.
