Dinner · 210 min · italian

Coda alla Vaccinara

This is the kind of Italian dinner you’ll make on repeat — oxtail and crushed tomatoes, 210 minutes, big payoff. Each serving lands at 843 calories with 79g of protein, so it eats like a much heavier meal. Simple enough for a Tuesday, good enough to serve to guests — that is the whole idea.

✓ USDA-verified nutrition data

Ingredients

• 3.5 lb Oxtail
• 2 cups Crushed tomatoes
• 4 stalks Celery
• 1 Carrot
• 1 Yellow onion
• 1 cup Dry red wine
• 1/4 cup Pine nuts
• 1/4 cup Raisins
• 1 tbsp Unsweetened cocoa
• 3 cups Beef broth

Steps

1. Blanch the oxtail in boiling water 10 minutes, then drain and rinse. This old Roman step cleans the broth and tames any harshness.
2. Brown the oxtail hard in a heavy pot, in batches, until deeply crusted on all sides. Color here is flavor later.
3. Add the chopped vegetables and cook 8 minutes, then pour in the wine and reduce by half. Add tomatoes and broth to barely cover.
4. Braise covered at the gentlest simmer for 3 hours, until the meat loosens from the bone.
5. Skim the fat, then stir in the pine nuts, raisins, and cocoa. Simmer 15 minutes more — the cocoa deepens the sauce without tasting of chocolate.
6. Serve the oxtail napped in its dark, glossy sauce with the celery traditionally cooked alongside.

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