This Christmas we received a pressure cooker.  For our first test run we decided to make oxtail soup, one of our favorite soups for a cold winter’s day. We didn’t know what to expect from the process, but since lunchtime we have since used the pressure cooker three more times…so we think it is safe to say we love it.

We started our day with a trip to the market where one of our purchases was this lovely oxtail.

We seasoned it with salt and pepper.

Browned it on all sides in a frying pan…

And then prepped some vegetables to add to the soup.  We used a simple mirepoix (onion, celery and carrot) and threw in some thyme.

It was all then added to the pressure cooker along with some red wine and about two cups of water.

It was cooked under high pressure for 45 minutes and then we allowed the pressure to release slowly.

The meat was cooled and then removed from the bone.  We added Italian parsley, a little of the cooking juice, sautéed mushrooms and salt and pepper.

One of our favorite parts about blogging (aside from the cooking of course) is the acquisition of dishes. These lovely soup bowls were found at my mother’s house but belonged to my great grandmother.  They have sat in a cupboard for about 40 years…until I recently came across them and decided to put them to use.  We placed the oxtail mixture in the center of the bowl and then added the broth.

The oxtail cooked so quickly and was tender and rich.  The soup was flavorful and simple to make which made it perfect for lunch.  Our only regret was that we didn’t make a much larger batch so that we could pop some in the freezer.