Seared Tournedos of Beef & Braised Oxtail Provençale

Oxtail (1000 gr)

Shallots, peel & slice (180 gr)

Carrots (two whole)

Celeriac (200 gr)

Tomato Paste (10 gr)

Garlic Cloves (three pieces)

Red Wine (300 ml)

Chicken Stock, canned (120 ml)

Olive Oil (15 ml)

Parsley Sprigs (two pieces)

Rosemary Sprig (two pieces)

Bay Leaf (one piece)

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

All Spice (pinch)

Parsley, chopped (2 tsp)

Rosemary leaves, chopped (½ tsp)

Thyme Leaves, chopped (½ tsp)

Pine Nuts, toasted (15 gr)

Lemon, zested (½ tsp)

Tomatoes (two whole)

Thyme (four springs for garnish)

Beef Tournedos (180 gr each, four pieces)

Salt, to taste

Cracker pepper, to taste

Potato (900 gr)

Heavy Cream (100 ml)

Milk (75 ml)

Butter (50 gr)

Nutmeg (a small pinch)

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Baby Carrots with green top (four pieces)

Butter (40 gr)

Salt, to taste

Heat oven to 180°C/356°F. In a large bowl, combine salt, pepper and allspice. Add oxtail to bowl and rub the mixture all over the meat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Blanch and peel the tomatoes, and when they have cooled, cut tomatoes in quarters and gently squeeze the seeds out. Dice the de-seeded tomatoes and set aside. Heat a heavy pan (or a heavy soup pot with a lid) over medium-high heat. Add olive oil as many oxtail pieces as can fit in a single layer without overcrowding the pot. Sear, turning occasionally, until the meat is uniformly golden brown all over, including the sides. Transfer meat to a plate; repeat until browned. Add shallot to the pan drippings and cook over medium heat until lightly caramelized. Add carrot and celeriac and brown for approximately five minutes. Stir in tomato paste and garlic and cook for one minute.

Pour the wine and stock into a pot. Bundle parsley sprigs, rosemary branches and bay leaves with kitchen twine and drop them into the pot. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook over medium heat until the liquid has reduced by half; this will take about 15 minutes. Return oxtail to pot and bring to a simmer. Cover pot and transfer to oven. Cook, until meat is forking tender, approx. 3 to 3½ hours.

Transfer oxtails to a plate. Spoon off fat from the surface and discard (there will be a lot of it). Strain the sauce through a fine chinois and reduce to sauce consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Separate the oxtail meat from the bones using a fork. Toss together the oxtail, chopped parsley, chopped rosemary, chopped thyme leaves, toasted pine nuts, lemon zest and tomato concasse in a small bowl.

Season beef with salt and pepper, and sear or grill the beef to the desired temperature. (Recommended medium rare.)

Peel the potatoes, cut into evenly sized pieces, and place them in a large pot. Fill the pot with cold water so that the potatoes are covered by one inch. Add one tablespoon of salt and bring to a boil on high heat. Cook the potatoes for about 15 minutes at a slow, steady boil. The potatoes should be very soft. Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot; allowing them to dry out a bit. Keep the pot on low heat and gently stir so the steam slowly stops releasing. Remove from the heat and rice the potatoes into a large bowl. Quickly wipe down the pot and add the milk and butter. Melt the butter into the milk, taking care not to scald the milk. Slowly pour the milk and butter mixture into the rice potatoes. Stir gently with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. In a separate bowl, whisk the whipping cream until soft peaks form. Scoop half of the whipped cream into the potatoes, and gently fold it in without mixing too hard. Add the remaining whipped cream, salt, ground white pepper and ground nutmeg. Repeat folding in all the ingredients. Taste the potatoes to check seasoning.

PREPARATION – Peel and cut baby carrots in half lengthwise. Melt butter in a pan and sauté carrots until just cooked. Season with salt.

Final Assembly – Spoon the potato mousseline onto the center of the plate and place the tournedos on top. Top tournedos with 1½ tablespoon of oxtail mixture and arrange the butter glazed carrots. Spoon around the red wine sauce and garnish with a sprig of thyme. Yields four servings.