A while ago I posted my fave stew recipe with pork and olives and the result was pretty much as expected, peeps are normally scared of trying new things, especially when is about food. I did receive some great feedback though, from all the three people that like my cooking (:P), and that made me decide to post another Romanian recipe with almost the same ingredients, except one… beef tongue. Now, before you all go “EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!”, you need to know that beef tongue recipes are pretty common and not only in Romania but in other countries as well.
Anyway, me likey and I am pretty sure I will find some other connoisseurs that will appreciate it as much as I do. My mother used to make it every once in a while but not for other reason but because tongue was pretty difficult to find at that time. It is actually hard to find in Canada as well unless you have a butcher in your neighborhood and you go and ask for it, which is what I did and the guy gave me a monster. I don’t know what it was because I asked for veal and I think I got beef, but it was humongous, like a tentacle (lol). French kiss this! So yeah, mum’s recipe was delicious and usually came in two variations, with olives or with pickles and those were AMAZING too but I just went through an olive phase so here you go.
Now, you should be able to make it with beef tongue as well but you might have to boil it to death before you actually do any cooking with it. Personally I recommend veal, the younger the better and don’t get freaked out when you buy it. Though it looks like a lethal weapon or some sort of exotic animal taken from Alien movies, the end result was delicious and even my wife loved it and she’s a definitely mac’n’cheese generation. Enjoy!
- 1 lb (500g) veal tongue
- 2 medium onions
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 celery root
- 1 cup of black olives
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 medium size carrots
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 5oz (150ml) tomato paste
- 1 whole clove
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp black peppercorns
- 2-3 tbsp vegetable oil
- parsley
- Wash the tongue with passion then cut in 2-4 pieces, depending of how big it is, and place it in a medium saucepan; add water enough to cover.
- Add one onion, carrots, celery root, bay leaves, clove, salt and black peppercorn to the saucepan; bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered for 1½ to 2 hours, until tongue is tender.
- Transfer the meat to a cutting board, cover with a damp towel and set aside to cool. Strain and reserve the stock. Peel and discard the tongue's skin, that's the icky part (lol). Slice the meat the way you like it.
- Chop the second onion as small as you want it and sautee in a large saucepan with 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil, over medium-heat until well browned. Stir in the garlic, chopped celery stalk and saute for 2 more minutes.
- Add tomato paste, olives and a cup of reserved stock and let simmer for two minutes. Add tongue pieces and add more stock until meat is fully covered; if you run out of stock you can add water.
- Let simmer for another 15 minutes or until the stew gets to the desired consistency. Remove from fire when ready, spread some fresh parsley and cover with a lid.
- I served mine over mashed potatoes but you can make your own combinations. Enjoy!
swan says
I have read 3 times the ingredients list and the cooking instructions….
Where are the olives ???? It’s beef tongue and olives stew ?? Isn’t it ????
Remo says
rofl you are right, I missed that but I will fix it momentarily