OX TAIL SOUP

Take your time…

Soups aren’t only for starters. This hearty meal can serve as a main course.

Ingredients

(serves 6-8)

2 tablespoons cake flour salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 teaspoon each smoked paprika and coriander

1,2 kg ox tail, cut into pieces 6 tablespoons oil

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped 3 celery stalks, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 bottle (330 ml) beer – we used lager

1 tin (400 g) chopped tomatoes 2 tins (400 g each) beans

2 ℓ good meat stock

Here’s how

1 Season the cake flour with salt and pepper to taste and add the paprika and coriander. Roll the ox tail pieces in the flour mixture until coated all over. Heat the oil in the potjie and fry the meat slowly in batches until golden brown. It sounds like a lot of oil, but you can spoon some out later rather than struggling to get the meat nice and crispy. Spoon out the meat and keep the fat in the pot.

2 Fry the onion, carrot and celery until soft and fragrant. Add the garlic, tomato paste and beer and cook everything quickly for a few minutes.

3 Return the meat to the potjie and add the tomato, beans and stock. Simmer for about three hours until the meat is tender. Scoop off any foam and impurities that rise to the surface.

4 Use a potato masher and carefully mash some of the beans while keeping the meat whole. Taste one last time for salt and pepper and serve with delicious bread.

Drive & Camp says If you like, you can flake the meat while mashing the beans. Serve with or without the bones.