Slow Braised Ox Tongue in a Parsley and Caper sauce with pommes Dauphine
Serves 6-8

This is a great recipe to try at home. It takes a bit of time to make but is totally worth it. If you don’t feel up to making the pommes Dauphine, buttery mash will go just as well. Any leftover tongue is also awesome on a sandwich with some English mustard, Tomato and pickles.

For the Tongue:
1 corned ox tongue (You can also use fresh tongue and salt it in your own brine for a week)

2 Carrots
1 Onion
1 Bulb of Garlic
1 Small bunch of Leeks
2 Bay Leaves
10 Whole Black Peppercorns

Soak the Tongue in cold water for 2 hours, (this helps to draw out any excessive saltiness) place in a large thick bottomed pan with fresh water. In the meantime peel and cut all your vegetables and add to the pot. (Just cut the garlic bulb in half) Add the bay leaf and peppercorns and place on a gentle heat.

Cover the pot and bring to a light simmer, turn the heat down slightly and let the pot gently simmer for more or less three hours (depending on the size of the tongue)
Use a paring knife and insert into the tongue to feel if it has cooked – you want it to still be firm but soft. Remove the pot from the stove and let the tongue cool down in the liquid.

Once luke warm, remove the tongue from the cooking liquor and peel. Reserve the tongue and the cooking liquor.

For the Sauce:
Tongue cooking liquor
200ml Full Cream
80g Capers soaked in brine
30g Flat leaf Parsley

Reduce the cooking liquor by two thirds. Soak the Capers in fresh water to remove any excessive saltiness. Add the cream and bring to the boil. Let the sauce reduce down slightly and add the capers. Slice the tongue into required thickness and add back into the sauce. Roughly chop the parsley and add to the sauce. Adjust the seasoning if needed. (A Squeeze of lemon juice and a dash of Dijon mustard may also be added to the sauce if desired.) Serve with Dauphine potatoes or buttery mash.

For the pommes Dauphine:
This makes a large enough batch to keep some in the freezer for the next time you are cooking a special meal.

500g choux pastry (see below)
500g cooked potato purée (cook 1kg potatoes)
150g corn flour (to roll potatoes in)
Salt, white pepper, nutmeg

Pierce the skin of each potato with a fork and bake in a 160°C oven until cooked through.
Scrape the potato out and pass through a sieve or moulis. Weigh out 500g of potato puree and 500g of choux pastry and fold together. Season to taste with salt, white pepper and freshly ground Nutmeg.
Quenelle the potato and roll in corn flour. Deep fry when needed. (Can also be frozen and kept for your next special dinner party)

To shape quenelles: Take a scoop with one teaspoon, and then pass it into the next spoon by turning it over against one another. Continue turning the spoons to shape a neat 3 sided oval (a quenelle)

Choux Pastry
500ml Water
125g Butter
250g cake Flour
7 whole eggs (added one by one)

Place the water and butter in a pot and bring to a boil. Sift in the flour and cook mixture on a medium heat, for at least 7 minutes, until it just starts to stick to the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and quickly whisk in the eggs one by one. Remove from the pot and cover with cling film.

To serve,
Slice tongue thinly and plate

Chef:
Stefan Marais (view profile)