Rabo de toro — oxtail braised in red wine

Pat the oxtail pieces dry; weigh out 1.8 kg for the recipe after removing thick outer flaps of fat, but with the bones still in. The bones stay in during braising. Cut the onion and carrot into small pieces, rinse the leek thoroughly between its layers and slice it, and chop the garlic. Have a heavy saucepan with a lid, about 5–6 l in capacity and 26–28 cm in diameter, ready.

Season the meat with 6 g salt and the pepper. Heat 20 ml olive oil in the saucepan over medium-high heat. Add one third of the oxtail, leaving space between the pieces, and brown for 7–8 minutes, turning as each side browns. Transfer to a plate. Brown the next two batches the same way, adding 10 ml olive oil for each. Keep all the juices on the plate. Leave the fat and browned bits in the pan; do not let them scorch black.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion, carrot and leek to the fat left by the meat. Cook for 12–15 minutes, stirring, until the vegetables soften and turn lightly golden. Add the garlic and stir for about a minute. Pour in the crushed tomatoes with their juice and cook for about 5 minutes longer, scraping up the browned bits with a spatula, until the base thickens slightly.

Pour in 500 ml wine and stir, loosening the remaining browned bits from the bottom. Boil without covering for about 8–10 minutes, until the liquid has reduced noticeably, by roughly half. Return the oxtail with all its plate juices, add the bay leaves and the initial 750 ml hot stock. The liquid should reach almost to the top of the meat pieces; add some of the reserve if needed. Reducing the wine does not mean that all the alcohol has been removed.

Bring to a gentle simmer, reduce the heat to low and cover the saucepan, leaving the lid slightly ajar. Braise for about 3.5–4 hours. The liquid should only bubble lightly from time to time. About once an hour, gently turn the pieces and check that the food is not sticking; if too much liquid is evaporating, add a little hot reserved stock. By the end, the meat should yield easily to a fork and come away from the bone. If it still resists, braise for about 30 minutes longer.

Carefully lift the tender oxtail pieces onto a plate with a wide spatula, supporting them underneath. Remove the bay leaves. Take the saucepan off the heat and use an immersion blender to blend all the liquid and all the vegetables into a smooth sauce; do not strain it through a sieve and do not drain off the fat. If the sauce is too thin, boil without covering for about 10–15 minutes, stirring, until it coats a spoon but still flows freely. Taste and add some of the reserved 4 g salt if needed.

Return the oxtail to the sauce with any plate juices and heat gently for 3–5 minutes, spooning sauce over the meat without vigorous stirring. Divide into four servings, sharing out the larger and smaller pieces and all the sauce. Serve hot; the meat should be very tender, and the bones are left on the plate. This recipe covers the oxtail and sauce, without a separate potato or mashed potato side.