| For Oxtail: |
| 4 | pounds oxtail |
| Kosher salt |
| Freshly ground white pepper |
| 1/2 | cup grapeseed or other neutral vegetable oil |
| 1 1/2 | cups roughly diced celery root |
| 2 | cups roughly diced carrots |
| 2 | medium leeks |
| 1 | large onion, roughly sliced |
| 4 | cloves garlic, whole |
| 1 | bunch thyme |
| 1/2 | bunch rosemary |
| 3 | cloves |
| 2 | bay leaves |
| 8 to 10 | white peppercorns |
| 2 | bottles dry red wine |
| 1 | pig trotter (or 1 ham hock if you really can’t find a trotter) |
| 1 | tablespoon tomato paste |
| 1/2 | tablespoon flour |
| For Celeriac Mash: |
| 2 | cups half-and-half |
| 8 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
| 8 | sprigs thyme |
| 3 | lbs. celery root |
| 3 | lbs. yukon gold potatoes |
| Salt (& butter) to taste |
| To Serve: |
| Fresh Horseradish, finely grated |
| For Oxtail: |
| 1. | Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Season the oxtails with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or braising pan over medium0high heat. Add the oxtails and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Remove and set aside. Add the celery root, carrots, leeks, onion, garlic, thyme, rosemary, cloves, bay leaves, and peppercorns and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and browned. Add the tomato paste. Mix well, then add the flour and mix again. Deglaze with red wine, scraping up any bits sticking to the pan. Return the oxtails to the pan and add the pig trotter. Bring to a simmer, cover, and braise in the oven until the oxtail is very tender, about 3 hours. |
| 2. | Remove the oxtails and trotter from the braising liquid. Set the oxtails aside. Take all the meat off the trotter. Discard the bone and julienne the meat. Strain the braising liquid through a fine sieve, pushing the vegetables through the sieve to give body to the liquid. Return the braising liquid to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce by one third over high heat. Degrease (by cooling or by skimming) and season with salt and pepper. Gently warm the oxtails in the braising liquid. |
| 3. | Serve the meat on a mound of celeriac mash (below) Surround with the reduced red wine braising liquid. Garnish with fresh horseradish to taste. |
| For Celeriac Mash: |
| 1. | Peel and cut celery root cut into ½" cubes and combine in a 2-qt. saucepan with half-and-half, butter, and thyme and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, until celery root is tender, about 25 minutes. Discard thyme. Strain the mixture, reserving liquid. Transfer celery root mixture to a food mill and purée. Set aside. |
| 2. | Meanwhile, combine potatoes and 2 tsp. of salt in a 6-qt. saucepan and add water so that potatoes are covered by 1". Bring to a boil over high heat, lower the heat to medium low, and simmer until potatoes are tender, 10–15 minutes. Drain potatoes for a few minutes, then pass them through a food mill into a large bowl, moistening with liquid from celery root as needed. |
| 3. | Combine potatoes and celery root and season to taste with salt, white pepper, and additional liquid from cooking the celery root. Hold (or brown, topped with a little butter, if preferred) in a toaster oven until ready to serve. |