Name: Rabo Encendido (Tail on Fire)
Yield: Serves 6–8
Cuisine: Cuban
Ingredients: flat-leaf parsley to garnish; freshly ground black pepper to taste; sea salt to taste; fresh bay leaves 4; rosemary 2–3 sprigs; thyme 2–3 sprigs; robust red wine 425 ml/¾ pint; meat stock 1.2 litres/2 pints, preferably home-made; Spiced Flour; oxtail 2.25 kg/5 lb, cut into 5 cm/2 in pieces; tomato purée 2 tbsp; garlic cloves 4 large, thinly sliced; celery stalks 6, roughly chopped; carrots 3 medium, thickly sliced; vegetable oil 8 tbsp; onions 3 medium, roughly chopped; cannellini beans 400 g/14 oz, soaked for several hours

Preparation info

Serves
6–8

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Pepper

By Christine McFadden

Published 2008

About

This is loosely based on a Cuban spicy stew usually served on special occasions. Meaty chunks of oxtail are dredged with a piquant seasoning of flour, black pepper, dry mustard, thyme, allspice and paprika, then stewed at a leisurely pace until the meat is falling off the bone. Creamy cannellini beans, though not authentic, mellow the fiery juices.