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Yield: 12
Servings
My kids both
love to be in the kitchen, which makes it a lot of fun to
cook for them. Although they're still a little too young to
sauté mushrooms or dice onions, they're helpful nonetheless.
Benno, who is almost three, will put on an apron and stand
on a stool next to me, handing me things I need and asking
questions. He's also a great help in tasting and adjusting
seasoning. Leo, at age one, provides our entertainment while
we cook, and likes to put dishes in the dishwasher - and sometimes
take them out again.
Benno
and Leo are a parent's - and a chef's - dream in that they
really go for food that most kids their age wouldn't touch:
spinach, goat's milk yogurt, raw sliced garlic, spicy sauces.
The white bean bruschetta mixture I serve at PO is one of
the first foods that Benno ever ate, and both boys still love
it. They're also huge pasta fans, and the gnocchi with oxtails
is a favorite. The soft bitew of the gnocchi in combination
with slow-braised meat makes an easy-to eat dish for young
kids, even while they're teething!
Ingredients:
- 2 oxtails
- Salt and
pepper
- 6 Tablespoons
extra virgin olive oil
- Flour,
for dredging
- 2 medium
onions, cut into 1/4 inch slices
- 4 cups
red wine, optional. You may use stock or water instead.
- 1 bunch
thyme leaves
- 1/2 recipe
basic gnocchi (as given by Mario Batali)
- Asiago
cheese
Method:
Preheat the
oven to 375° F.
Trim excess
fat from oxtails. Cut oxtails in half through vertebrae (or
have your butcher do this). Season oxtails liberally with
salt and pepper and dredge with flour. In a 6 to 8-quart heavy-
bottomed casserole, heat the olive oil until smoking. Add
oxtails and cook until browned, turning often, 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove to a plate and set aside.
To the same
pan, add the onions, and, stirring constantly, cook until
lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add wine, stock and herbs
and bring to a boil. Return the oxtails to the pot, submerging
them in the liquid, and bring to a boil. Cover the casserole
with a tight-fitting lid or aluminum foil and cook in the
oven for 1 to 1 and one-half hours, or until meat is falling
off the bone.
Remove the
pan from the oven and carefully remove the oxtails.
Remove meat
from bones and discard bones. Shred meat into small pieces.
With a ladle, remove fat from the surface of the sauce. Add
oxtail meat. Cook to ragu consistency. Season.
Bring about
6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt.
In a 12
to 14- inch saute pan, heat ragu (sauce) over medium heat
until warmed through.
Cook the
gnocchi in the boiling water at a low boil until they float
aggressively to the surface. Drain gnocchi and add to saute
pan with oxtail ragu. Toss gently over medium heat to coat
gnocchi with ragu, 1 to 2 minutes. Divide among 6 heated bowls
and grate Asiago over each bowl. Serve immediately.
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