Revisit a forgotten gem: The revival of oxtail soup

When stores lacked beef tenderloin or other cuts of meat, home cooks used what was available at the time. One of those things was beef or pork tails, used to make soup. Vegetables and aromatic ingredients were added, so after an hour you could enjoy a delicious dish that kept you full for a long time.

The basic recipe for oxtail soup is incredibly simple, and the main ingredient, which is beef tail, should be easy to find at a butcher shop. Who knows, maybe you'll come to like this part of the cow and reach for it even more often? It contains a lot of iron and keratin, and the bone marrow found in it perfectly serves as a base for the soup.

Although the name of this dish may give some people chills, oxtail soup is not only tasty but also healthy, as it is rich in collagen. Regular consumption of collagen slows down the aging processes of the skin, hair, nails, and bones. It is worth including it in your daily diet, especially after reaching the age of 50 when the body produces a small amount of this valuable protein.

Ingredients:

                                  
• 1/4 celery root,
• 1 carrot,
• 1 parsley root,
• 5 potatoes,
• 2-3 dried mushrooms,
• 1 onion,
• 2 cloves of garlic,
• 1 kg of oxtails (approximately 2.2 pounds),
• 1 teaspoon of marjoram,
• 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika,
• 1/2 teaspoon of hot paprika,
• 3 allspice berries,
• 2 bay leaves,
• 500 ml of tomato puree (about 2 cups),
• butter,
• salt,
• pepper,
• dill.

Preparation:

      
1. Pour hot water over the mushrooms. In the meantime, wash, peel, and dice the carrot, parsley root, celery root, and potatoes.
2. Wash the oxtails and cut them into smaller pieces. Put them in a pot and add 1.5 litres of cold water (about 6 cups). Bring them to a boil and cook for 20 minutes. After this time, add the diced vegetables, mushrooms, allspice, and bay leaves. Cook everything for another 15-20 minutes with the lid on.
3. While the soup is cooking, prepare the roux. Peel and dice the onion. Sauté it together with the garlic, marjoram, and paprika. When it becomes golden, pour in the tomato puree and wait for it to thicken a bit.
4. Transfer this mixture to the boiling soup. At the end of cooking, add chopped dill. Enjoy your meal!