I adore sauces; I've always seen them made since I was little, and as a good Venetian, I manage to make them and they turn out delicious. The other day I was at the butcher's and, strangely enough, there was oxtail, which I hardly ever find; since it's cold here in Tuscany these days, corn polenta is a dish that reminds me of the foggy winters of the Po Valley, so I said to myself: "instead of the usual stew or ossobuco, I'll cook the tail and then a nice polenta!!!
Yes, I know, oxtail stew is a Roman dish, polenta is Venetian, but you'll see......
I start by sautéing the vegetables (celery, carrot, onion) finely chopped; so, one of the tricks for an excellent sauce is lots of vegetables.
I put 4 stalks of celery, 2 large carrots, and a large red onion.
I started to sauté the vegetables with extra virgin olive oil until they are reduced by half and change color.
This is the other trick: the vegetables must be reduced by half. I add salt to the mixture and the tail, and continue to sauté, just a few minutes.
I deglaze the cooking base with a nice glass of red wine.
As soon as the wine has evaporated and dried, I add the tomato puree, 1/3 of a bottle, and a bottle of water (I use the one from the puree), I add a chopped parsley, cover, lower to the minimum and forget about it for 3 hours.
For the corn polenta, I use the steam precooked one that cooks in 3 minutes as soon as the water boils.
This sauce is an explosion of flavor because it captures all the essence of the meat, and it's perfect to enjoy with polenta.
I hope I have been as clear as possible and that if you cook it, it turns out just as exceptional.
Thanks for reading
the photos are taken by me