Oxtail salad with summer vegetables

Ingredients

For the oxtail

• 1kg/2lb 4oz oxtail, cut into 2.5cm/1in thick pieces, trimmed of any excess fat
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 50g/2oz flour, plus extra for dusting the oxtail
• 60g/2½oz butter, plus extra for the carrots
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tsp tomato purée
• 100ml/3½fl oz red wine
• 2 litres/3½ pints beef stock (or 2 good quality beef stock cubes, dissolved in 2 litres/3½ pints hot water

For the dressing

• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• ½ tsp English mustard
• 3 tbsp extra virgin rapeseed oil

For the salad

• handful pea shoots
• handful small salad and herb leaves (for example, silver sorrel, bittercress, amaranth, corn salad or baby spinach)
• 60g/2½oz (shelled weight) fresh peas, boiled
• 80-100g/3-4oz (shelled weight) fresh broad beans, boiled

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/400F/Gas 7.

2. For the oxtail, season the pieces of oxtail with salt and freshly ground black pepper and lightly dust them with a little flour.

3. Place the oxtail into a roasting tin and roast in the oven for 30 minutes, turning the oxtail pieces after 15 minutes to make sure they are nicely coloured on both sides.

4. Meanwhile melt the butter in a pan over a low heat and gently cook the onion, garlic and thyme for 3-4 minutes until soft, stirring occasionally.

5. Add the flour and the tomato purée and stir well.

6. Gradually pour in the red wine and stock, stirring well between additions to avoid lumps forming, then bring the mixture to the boil.

7. Add the pieces of roasted oxtail to the pan, then cover and simmer gently over a low heat for about two hours. Check the pieces of oxtail - the meat should be tender and easily removed from the bone. If not, replace the lid and cook for another 15 minutes and test again.

8. Drain the oxtail into a colander over a bowl to reserve the sauce.

9. When the oxtail is cool enough to handle, remove the pieces of meat from the bone and place into a clean saucepan and cover with the reserved sauce. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce has reduced enough to just coat the meat.

10. Meanwhile, for the dressing, whisk all of the dressing ingredients together in a clean bowl and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

11. For the salad, place the pea shoots, salad and herb leaves, peas and broad beans into a bowl and cover with most of the dressing. Mix well to coat and arrange a little salad in the centre of each serving plate.

12. To serve, spoon a little of the warm oxtail meat around the salad with a small amount of sauce just coating the meat, then spoon a little of the remaining dressing over the oxtail.