SALTED OX TONGUE

I picked up a salted ox tongue at the Norfolk Food Fair on Saturday simply because I had never had tongue.

The tongue was an Angus tongue from Foxley Wood. If you wish to buy some quality beef for your Christmas meal or some other occasion, this farm is a very good choice. They start maturing Christmas beef in October.




The stall-keepers were two lovely ladies who gave me detailed instructions on how to cook the tongue. I promised them to write something about my experience.




Fist you need to simmer the tongue on low heat.



Skim the foam when it forms.



The tongue is done when you're able to insert a skewer easily. This will take a few hours. When the tongue is cooked, put a weight on it and let it rest. I think I used a fairly unorthodox method for this, as you can see below, but it worked.




Peel the tongue. The skin will come off very easily.




And finally, you can slice it.



I have served the tongue two different ways so far. Below you can see it with Hollandaise sauce. I have to say I didn't enjoy the sauce very much even though it's a classic.




The second time I fried plenty of garlic, an onion and tree tomatoes and added some balsamic vinegar. I added the sliced tongue into the mixture to warm it up. I also sprinkled some parsley on top. This worked much better.




The flavour of the tongue is quite mild. I have to describe it, I'd say it tastes a little bit like ham or seafood. The texture is very soft and tender, as you can see in the photo below. There are several types of tissue in the tongue and they all have a different flavour and texture.




Fridge-cold tongue is delicious on it's own. I'd imagine it makes a lovely sandwich.

MEATBALLS AND AUBERGINES

Serves two.


1 large aubergine
1 stalk celery
1 tin chopped tomatoes
Half small onion
2 cloves garlic
Herbs
Salt
Pinch of sugar
Black pepper
6-10 meatballs
Mature cheddar




Fry the onion and garlic in a large amount of oil or butter. Add the aubergine and celery. When the vegetables are slightly brown and soft, add the chopped tomatoes and spices.




Place the mixture in an oven dish and add the meatballs and cheese.

I used cooked, frozen meatballs straight from the freezer but you can also use raw ones. Raw meatballs will emit some brown liquid so you'll get a slightly prettier meal if you use cooked ones. There's no difference in taste.




Bake in about 200°C until done. This will maybe take 30 minutes with raw meatballs.



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Happy aubergine.