Ox Tail

So my friend Debra gave us this ox tail. She bought a steer from her sister and nobody seemed to like ox tail, only me! The ox tail meat is delicious, but it needs to be prepared properly, otherwise it can get really heavy and greasy. Carrots are from my friend Patricia's garden; potatoes are from our garden; kale, cabbage, onions, chard are from the CSA box.

The overall process to make ox tail is something like this: remove the visible fat from the meat; marinate the ox tail with onion, garlic, bay leaves, white wine, peppercorns, salt for a couple of hours. Slow cook it for 6 hours in low. Put the meat in a container in the fridge, reserve. Put the remaining liquid in a glass container and leave it in the freezer overnight. The next day, remove the broth container form the freezer. Let it defrost in the fridge. Remove the fat from the top.

Heat the meat and the broth in a large pan. Add potatoes, carrots, collards, kale, cabbage, any other vegetables such as squash, broccoli etc. Let them cook in the meat broth.

Kale and Garbanzo Soup

This soup is a variation of a popular soup in Brazil, the Portuguese “Caldo Verde” (green broth), made with collard greens, potatoes and Portuguese linguica. This recipe calls for garbanzos but you can also use white beans. Sausages are optional and can be left out for a vegetarian version.

Kale and Garbanzo Soup

4 servings

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic minced

½ teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped

½ teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped (optional)

2 bison sausages thinly chopped (optional)

One 15-oz can garbanzo beans, drained

4 cups chicken broth

1 small bunch kale stems removed and cut in thin strips

Kosher salt and black pepper

2 tablespoons Parmesan

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a stockpot over a medium heat and saute the onion about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, rosemary, oregano and sausage (if using) and cook another minute. Add the garbanzos, broth and bring to a simmer.

Add the kale and simmer, uncovered, until it is tender, about 10 - 15 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan if not using sausage.

Irish-Brazilian Lamb Stew

Stew is another wondeful fall/winter dish that uses up a lot of the CSA’s vegetables. This stew recipe blends Irish (husband) and Brazilian (me) stew recipes. Lamb and potatoes from the Irish side, collard greens and lots of other vegetables from the Brazilian side. In my parent’s house, they add collard greens to all stews. You can add several vegetables, such as broccoli, turnip, leeks, squash, collard greens, corn, cauliflower etc. Sometimes I use red wine instead of beer. Depends on the mood. Today I am using CSA’s cippolini onions, carrots, potatoes (from last week), celery, cabbage, zucchini, and kale (from last week). Fresh herbs from my garden.

If you are in Irish mode, serve it with Irish brown bread (I have a wonderful recipe that I will share in the future); if you are in Brazilian mode, serve it with long grain white rice (or brown rice). 
The vegetables got too mushy. Next time I'll cook the meat in the slow cooker with the basic vegetables (onions, carrots, celery) and herbs first, and then move the meat to a casserole and add the remaining vegetables (potatoes, cabbage, etc). 

Irish-Brazilian Lamb Stew

8 servings

Ingredients:

1 ½ pound lamb shoulder, visible fat removed

1 cup red wine

1 cup broth (beef or vegetable)

1 ½ cups ceppolini onions

3 garlic cloves, crushed

3 medium carrots, cut in 1” pieces


3 stalks celery, cut in 1” pieces

½ cabbage cut in wedges


6 small potatoes, cut in 1” pieces

2 small potatoes, cut in ¼” pieces

1 large summer squash, cut in 1” pieces

½ bunch kale, stems removed, leaves torn

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
 (use ¼ t if dry)

1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves (use ¼ t if dry)

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary (use ¼ t if dry)

1 bay leaf

Kosher salt

black pepper


Directions:

In a 6-quart slow cooker, combine the vegetables except the kale. Top with the meat, spices, wine, broth, spices, salt and pepper. Cover the slow cooker, then cook on low until the lamb is fork-tender, about 5 to 6 hours. Half hour before serving, take the lamb shoulder pieces from the pan, remove the bones and cut in small pieces. Mash some potato to thicken the sauce and add the kale leaves. Skim off and discard fat.

Mi's Minestrone

“Minestrone (Italian: minestra (soup) + -one (augmentative suffix) hence "the big soup", the one with many ingredients) is the name for a variety of thick Italian soups made with vegetables, often with the addition of pasta or rice. Common ingredients include beans, onions, celery, carrots, stock, and tomatoes.

There is no set recipe for minestrone, since it is usually made out of whatever vegetables are in season. It can be vegetarian, contain meat, or contain a meat-based broth (such as chicken stock).” (Wikipedia)

As we can see, minestrone is a perfect recipe to use up the abundance of CSA’s fresh vegetables. Today I am using onions, carrots, celery, cabbage, tomatoes, zucchini, green beans and parsley from the CSA box. I am also using some kale that I didn’t use from last week. Minestrone can be gluten free and vegetarian, but today I am adding a leftover kielbasa.

Mi’s Minestrone (basic vegetarian recipe)

8 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 small carrots, chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

½ cabbage head, coarsely chopped

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

4 cups of vegetable broth

4 cups boiling water

1 can cooked white beans, drained

3 small zucchini, cubed

¼ cup chopped parsley

Kosher sea salt, black pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions

Heat the oil in a big stockpot; add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 min. Add cabbage and cook another 5 min until soft.

Add oregano, basil, thyme, tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir.

Add the broth and water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 40 min. Add beans and zucchini and simmer for 15 more minutes. Remove from heat and add the parsley. Serve sprinkled with parmesan cheese and bread if desired.