I don’t cook a great deal of beef but I get some excellent cuts from a local organic farm. And tonight the short ribs sounded good. Beef short ribs, it’s what’s for dinner.

 

5 or 6 short ribs trimmed of fat

Kosher salt and pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

1 fennel in a large dice (fronds, stems and core removed)

1 large onion in a large dice

2 large carrots sliced

3-4 stalks of celery in a large dice

3-4 cloves of garlic minced

2 T tomato paste

1 bottle dry red wine

rosemary and thyme

4 cups beef or mushroom broth

Put ribs on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Generously salt and pepper them and put in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

 

Heat oil over medium high heat in a heavy Dutch oven. Add diced vegetables and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Add minced garlic and cook 2 more minutes.

 

Pour in the bottle of wine and tomato paste. Cook over high heat until mixture is reduced by half…approximately 20-25 minutes.

 

Add salt and pepper and 1 tsp each of rosemary and thyme. Put the ribs in the Dutch oven with the veggies and wine reduction. Add 4 cups of broth and bring to a simmer. Cover and put in 300 degree oven for about two hours until ribs are tender.

Remove ribs to a platter and cook the veggies and broth over medium heat until reduced by half…about 20 minutes. Put the ribs back in and heat through.

We had mashed potatoes but you could serve them with buttered noodles or just a good crusty bread.

Since the oven was going to be on for 2 hours I decided to roast some beets. I peeled them and put them in a casserole dish lined with heavy duty foil. I put some olive oil and kosher salt on the beets, sealed the foil tight and roasted the beets.  I love finishing them with balsamic vinegar. I put a cup of vinegar in a saucepan and simmered it until it was reduced by half. Before serving I slice the beets and drizzle the balsamic reduction over them.  They are always excellent.

TIP:  Recipes are always asking for a tablespoon or two of tomato paste. A little trick I learned a long time ago was to open one end of a can of tomato paste and put it in the freezer for an hour or two. Then I take it out, open the other end of the can, push the paste through and slice it into 4 or 5 slices. Put each slice into a little zip lock snack bag and freeze. When you need a tablespoon of tomato paste it’s ready for you!

 

The short ribs were excellent. Enjoy!