Oxtail Stew in the Crockpot

This stew was a favorite of mine growing up, and while it's not exactly Russian, I thought it would be a nice variation of the Russian beef stews I saw on Pinterest. (Oh, who am I kidding, I just wanted oxtail stew!) I asked my mom to send me the recipe, and boy did she deliver:

Here's my more in depth version. Because I knew the oxtail had to cook for a long time, I opted to do most of the stewing in the crockpot for the 6 hours I would be away. Behold:

• 2 lbs oxtail
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion
• 3 large cloves of garlic
• 1 carton beef broth
• 1/2 bottle red wine
• 4 carrots
• 4 potatoes
• 3 parsnips
• 1 teaspoon paprika

1. Toss oxtails in flour, salt and pepper. Pour olive oil into a dutch oven or large pot and brown oxtail on all sides. Transfer to crockpot and cover in half the wine (1/4 bottle), and 1/2 carton of beef broth. Set to low and cook for 4-6 hours.

2. When you get back from work (or after your meat has cooked in the crockpot for 4-6 hours), cut slice the onion, mince the garlic and cook in the oil that is leftover from cooking the meat. Once softened, add cup up carrots, potatoes, and parsnips. Cover with remaining wine and broth and boil for about 30 minutes.

3. Add meat into dutch oven where your veggies are cooking, and finish with paprika. Salt and pepper to taste and serve!