Oxtail with orange, szechuan peppercorns and star anise

6 HOURS | SERVES 4 | EASY

My favourite of all cuts to slow cook, oxtail turns meltingly tender in this dish. Szechuan peppercorns lend an attractive buzz and are especially good when matched with aromatic orange and star anise.

oxtail 1.5kg, cut into pieces (ask the butcher to do this) garlic 5 cloves, peeled and left whole ginger a thumb-sized piece, skin on, sliced into 6 chunks szechuan peppercorns 1 tsp, crushed cinnamon stick 1 star anise 4 orange peel 4 strips, pith removed bay leaves 4 dark soy sauce 2 tbsp red wine 175ml black peppercorns crushed to make Ω tsp TO SERVE spring onions 4, finely sliced toasted sesame seeds 1 tbsp steamed basmati rice steamed pak choi

• Heat the slow cooker to high or low, depending on desired cooking time.

• Put all the casserole ingredients into the slow cooker and top up with enough boiling water for the oxtail to be just submerged (about 750ml). Don’t add salt as the soy sauce is salty and you can adjust at the end of the cooking time.

• Cover and simmer for 4-6 hours on high or 8-12 hours on low until completely tender and you can easily pull any meat away from the bone. From time to time use a ladle to skim off any excess fat that might pool on top as the meat cooks.

• Remove the oxtail pieces to a plate. Strain the broth through a sieve, discarding the spices, orange peel and ginger, then return the broth to the pot. Return the oxtail and check the seasoning, adding salt and additional pepper if necessary.

• Sprinkle over the spring onions and sesame seeds, and serve with the rice and pak choi.

PER SERVING 693 KCALS | FAT 38.1G SATURATES 15.8G | CARBS 2.8G | SUGARS 1.4G FIBRE 0.9G | PROTEIN 76G | SALT 2.1G