Braised Oxtail Ravioli with Red Wine Reduction

⏱ 330 min · Serves 4

Slow-braised oxtail, meltingly tender and glossy with marrow, folded into silky egg pasta and finished with a syrupy red wine reduction and a shower of gremolata. It's a weekend project that eats like a tasting-menu course — worth every minute.

Per serving: 870 kcal · 52.0g protein · 63.0g carbs · 42.0g fat

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg oxtail, cut into thick sections
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 2 celery sticks, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 750 ml full-bodied red wine (plus 250 ml extra for the reduction)
• 600 ml beef stock
• 2 bay leaves, 3 thyme sprigs, 1 rosemary sprig
• Salt and black pepper
• 300 g '00' flour
• 3 whole eggs plus 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp olive oil (for the dough)
• 40 g Parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve
• 2 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 60 g cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• Zest of 1/2 lemon, 1 tbsp parsley and 1 small garlic clove (for gremolata)
• Semolina, for dusting

Method

1. Season the oxtail generously. Heat the oil in a heavy casserole and brown the pieces hard on all sides, in batches, until deeply coloured. Set aside.
2. Lower the heat, add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook 10 minutes until soft. Stir in the tomato purée and cook 2 minutes.
3. Pour in 750 ml red wine, bring to a boil and reduce by half. Return the oxtail with the stock and herbs, cover and braise at 150C/300F for 3.5–4 hours, until the meat slips from the bone.
4. Lift out the oxtail and cool slightly. Strain the braising liquid, skim the fat and reserve; you want about 500 ml.
5. Pick all the meat, discarding bone, gristle and excess fat. Shred finely and mix with 100 ml of the braising liquid, the Parmesan, breadcrumbs and parsley. Season well and chill until firm — this is your filling.
6. Meanwhile make the pasta: mound the flour, add eggs, yolks, oil and a pinch of salt, and bring together. Knead 10 minutes until smooth and elastic, wrap and rest 30 minutes.
7. Roll the dough in quarters through a pasta machine to the second-thinnest setting. Lay teaspoon-sized balls of filling 5 cm apart, brush around with water, top with a second sheet, press out air and cut into 24 ravioli. Dust with semolina.
8. For the reduction, simmer the remaining 400 ml braising liquid with 250 ml wine until reduced to a glossy 150 ml. Off the heat, whisk in the cold butter piece by piece and the vinegar. Keep warm.
9. Chop the lemon zest, parsley and garlic together for the gremolata.
10. Cook the ravioli in well-salted boiling water for 3–4 minutes, until they float and the edges are tender. Lift out with a spider.
11. Spoon the reduction onto warm plates, sit 6 ravioli on top, scatter with gremolata and extra Parmesan, and serve at once.