Oxtail Agnolotti

Dinner | Italian

Prep time: 1 min Cook time: 4 min Servings: 4

Rich, slow-braised oxtail wrapped in homemade pasta and served with a silky sauce made from the braising liquid itself.

Katelyn loves it when I make her fresh pasta, but it does take time, so I save it for special occasions. This dish has a few steps: you’re braising the oxtail low and slow until it falls apart, making a simple pasta dough from scratch, shaping it around the filling, and turning the leftover braising liquid into the sauce. It sounds like a lot, but none of it is difficult. It just takes patience.

The result is a plate of pasta that genuinely tastes like something you’d get at a great restaurant, and that moment of putting it on the table makes every bit of the effort worth it.

Ingredient Notes

‘00’ flour: This is a very finely milled Italian flour made specifically for pasta. It creates a smooth, silky dough that rolls out beautifully and gives the pasta a great texture. You can find it in most supermarkets or Italian grocery stores. Regular plain flour will work, but the texture won’t be quite as good.

Oxtail: This is the tail of a cow, cut into sections. It has a rich, deep beefy flavour and a lot of tough tissue that, once cooked slowly over several hours, melts into the sauce and makes it wonderfully thick and sticky. You can get it from a butcher, either whole or already cut into portions. If you can’t find it, osso bucco, chuck steak or oyster blade are all good alternatives.

Beef tallow: This is rendered beef fat and it’s great for searing because it can handle very high heat and adds a rich flavour to the meat. You can find it at most butchers or online. If you don’t have it, any neutral oil works perfectly well.

Red wine: The wine you use will influence the flavour of the whole dish, so use something you’d actually enjoy drinking. Italian reds like Barolo, Barbaresco or Nebbiolo work really well, but Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon are great options too. Avoid anything labelled “cooking wine” as these are usually poor quality.

Fine semolina: Used to dust the tray where your finished agnolotti rest before cooking. It prevents them from sticking much better than flour, because it doesn’t absorb moisture the same way.

Equipment you’ll need

Large heavy-based saucepan or Dutch oven with a lid
Pasta machine
Large saucepan (for cooking the pasta)
Chopping board and knife
Bench scraper
Crimped pastry wheel or sharp knife
Fine sieve or strainer
Slotted spoon
Large tray

Ingredients

Pasta dough
200g ‘00’ flour, plus extra for dusting
2 eggs
10ml extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt, to season
2 tbsp fine semolina, for dusting
Oxtail filling
1kg (2.2 Lbs) oxtail
1 tbsp beef tallow (or neutral flavoured oil)
½ brown onion
1 carrot
1 stick celery
3 cloves garlic
2 sprigs rosemary
2 tbsp tomato paste
200mls red wine
1L beef stock
grated parmesan cheese, to serve

Directions

Braise the oxtail
Season the oxtail on all sides with salt on a large tray.
Heat the tallow in a large, heavy based saucepan or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the oxtail and cook for 6-8 minutes, turning until browned all over. Set aside in a bowl.
Roughly chop the carrots, onion and celery. Add the onions and carrots to the pan and cook for 3 minutes, to soften.
Add the celery and garlic and stir constantly to avoid the garlic catching and burning. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the tomato paste, stirring for 1 minute.
Add the red wine and bring to a simmer, then cook until the wine reduces by half.
Return the oxtail to the pan with the rosemary and pour in the beef stock. Cover with a lid and simmer for 4 hours, until fall apart tender (start checking for tenderness at 3 hours of cooking).
Make the pasta dough
Place the flour on a clean work surface and make a well in the center. Crack the eggs into the center and season with a pinch of salt.
Add the olive oil and using a fork, whisk from the middle outside until you reach a clumpy dough, then use a bench scraper to bring it together. Knead for 4-5 minutes, or until the dough is nice and smooth.
Cover the dough in plastic wrap or in a ziplock bag. Set aside in the fridge to rest for a minimum 2 hours, ideally up to 24 hours.
Prep the filling
Remove the oxtail from the pan and pass the sauce through a sieve to remove the aromatics. Return the sauce to the pan with the oxtail and leave to cool, covered, for at least 1 hour.
Remove the oxtail from the stock and place in a large bowl. Place the stock back over a medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook until the liquid reduces and thickens slightly.
Pick the meat from the bones, discarding the bones and any excess hard fat. Shred the meat really finely using your hands.
Stir through a little of the reduced stock to keep it moist if it needs it. Set aside to cool.
Roll and fill pasta
Divide the pasta dough in half and keep one covered while you work with the first. Roll the dough through a pasta machine on the biggest setting twice. Do an envelope fold on the sheet and press down to seal with your hands, then return to the pasta machine on the same setting. Roll it through twice more.
Turn the pasta machine setting down 1 notch, then pass the dough through twice. Continue to do this through each setting, until you have a long, thin pasta sheet (only use flour to dust the machine when necessary to avoid sticking).
Cut the pasta sheet in half to make 2 long even sheets and place on a lightly floured bench.
Add tablespoonfuls of the oxtail filling along the closest edge to you, evenly spaced, with a 1cm gap in between. Brush the far edge with a little water.
Fold over the far edge to enclose the filling and press down along the seam, then in between each portion of filling.
Cut the long edge with a crimped dough roller to make a straight edge. Then roll the Agnolotti over the long edge and use the roller to cut between them. Make sure each agnolotti is sealed.
Transfer the pieces to a tray sprinkled with semolina. Refrigerate, uncovered, until ready to cook.
Cook and serve
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil over high heat. Add the agnolotti and cook for 6 minutes, until the dough is tender and al dente.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked pasta straight into the reduced sauce and toss gently to combine. Divide the pasta between serving plates and sprinkle with some grated parmesan cheese to serve.

Recipe notes

Chef Tips

Let the oxtail rest in the sauce

Once the oxtail is cooked and tender, resist the urge to shred it straight away. Leave it to rest in the braising liquid for at least an hour. This stops the meat from drying out and lets it soak up even more of that flavour.

Go easy on the flour when rolling

When rolling the pasta dough through the machine, try to use as little extra flour as possible. Too much flour can dry the dough out and stop the edges from sealing properly when you fold the pasta.

Seal the pasta well

When pinching the pasta shut, make sure there are no air pockets and the edges are firmly sealed. Any gaps will open up in the boiling water and you’ll lose your filling. Press firmly with your fingertips to get a good seal all the way along each piece.

You can use the oven instead

If you’d rather not keep an eye on the pot, you can transfer it to a 140°C (285°F) fan-forced oven for about 4 hours once everything is in. You’ll get the same result, just with a lot less watching.

Storage

Any leftover pasta should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge and eaten within 5 days. If you can, store the sauce and pasta separately so the pasta doesn’t absorb all the liquid overnight.

FAQs

Can I make this dish ahead of time? Yes, and I’d actually encourage it. The oxtail filling is best made a day or two in advance and kept in the fridge. The flavour only gets better overnight. You can also shape the pasta ahead of time and keep it on a tray dusted with semolina, covered loosely, in the fridge for up to a day before cooking.

Can I freeze it? Yes. Once you’ve shaped the pasta, dust the pieces generously with semolina and freeze them on a tray first so they don’t stick together. Once they’re frozen solid, transfer them to a container or bag. When you’re ready to cook, drop them straight from the freezer into boiling water and cook for 9 to 10 minutes.

Can I use a different cut of meat? Yes. If you can’t get oxtail, osso bucco, chuck steak or oyster blade all work well. They’re cuts that become very tender and full of flavour with long, slow cooking. If you want a lighter result, you can also swap the beef stock for chicken stock.

Do I need a pasta machine? Technically no, but I’d really recommend one. You can roll the dough by hand with a rolling pin, but getting it thin enough and even enough to hold the filling properly is very difficult without a machine. If you’re going to the effort of making filled pasta, a pasta machine is worth it.

Can I use store-bought pasta? The homemade pasta is really the point of this dish, so I wouldn’t skip it. That said, if you just want to enjoy the oxtail filling, you could serve it as a sauce over a wide dried pasta like pappardelle. It won’t be the same dish, but it’ll still be delicious.

What should I serve it with? This pasta is rich and filling on its own, so all it really needs is a light green salad and some crusty bread on the side.

How long does this recipe take?

The oxtail needs at least 3 hours of slow cooking to become tender, plus resting time in the sauce. Making the pasta dough, rolling, and shaping all adds to that. I’d treat this as a weekend cook where you can take your time and enjoy the process.