Ox Tail Stew with Spätzle

Ox Tail Stew

• 1 ox tail, chopped into segments
• 1 bunch of carrots
• 2 celery hearts
• 3 red onions
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 4 tblsp of Ghee
• 500 ml beef stock
• 500 - 1000 ml dark beer (e.g. Guinness)
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 cloves
• 150 ml single cream
• 2 tblpsp of corn flour

1. pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees C
2. clean and roughly chop the vegetables
3. heat 2 tblsp of Ghee in an oven prove braising pot
4. gently cook the vegetable for about 10 minutes
5. turn up the heat and cook another 5 minutes until the vegetable start to get caramelized, set aside
6. heat the remaining Ghee (in the same, now empty pan) and quickly brown the meat, season with salt and pepper
7. add the vegetables, the beef stock, 500 ml of beer, the roughly chopped parsley, the bay leaves and the cloves 
8. put in the oven and simmer for 3.5 hours, checking regularly and adding more beer should the stew get to dry
9. when the meat is tender, remove from oven. Take out the meat and pick off the bone
10. Strain sauce through a sieve (press as much of the soft vegies through the sieve as possible) and remove the fat (at least some of it - I use a special can for that)
11. add the cream and bring the sauce to a boil and reduce slightly
12. use corn flour dissolved in a little water to thicken
13. season to taste  (I used blueberry jam, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper)

 Spätzle

• 250g plan flour
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 120ml water
• butter

1. put the flour and salt in a bowl
2. put in eggs and water and beat until smooth, the dough should be slightly runny
3. heat a pot of salted water
4. press spätzle dough into the water and simmer for 2 minutes (I have a spätzle press for this but I've been told you can use a colander. Work in batches)
5. remove with a slotted spoon and set aside
6. 5 minutes before serving reheat spätzle in butter

Brussels Sprouts (we had some left from last time and had them for starters. This recipe actually works better than the last one) 

1. clean the sprouts
2. steam for 8 minutes
3. season with salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil