Autumn is here = Braised Short Ribs

BRAISED SHORT RIBS WITH A TOMATO RAGU REDUCTION OVER RICOTTA RISOTTO
Serves 2

Ingredients:

Olive oil
Mirepoix:
¼ cup carrot, small dice
¼ cup celery, small dice
½ cup onion, small dice
1/3 cup basil, chopped
1 Tbsp thyme, minced
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp condensed veal demi-glace dissolved in 1.5 cups hot water
1 large glass red wine
16 oz chopped tomatoes
2 ‘flanken cut’ short ribs
1 Tbsp basil, minced (garnish)

For risotto:
½ cup minced onion
1 cup Arborio rice
4 cups fresh chicken stock
3 – 4 Tbsp good quality, fresh ricotto (not the mass produced commercial kind)
sea salt
1 cup dry white wine

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F / 121 degrees C

Season ribs with salt and pepper and sear over high heat until browned all over (not just grey) and remove to rest on a plate.

In a heavy, cast iron pot, over moderate heat, add olive oil and add garlic, basil, thyme, red pepper flakes and cook for 3 minutes.

Add Mirepoix and cook until onions soften.

Add demi-glace, wine, tomatoes, and return the ribs to the pot.  Bring to a boil.

Tightly cover pot and immediately put in the oven for 3 hours.

Remove the meat from the pot and throw away the bones.  Carefully remove gristle / connective tissue from the meat (tidy it up basically, the thick fat isn’t nice to eat or look at).

Cover the meat tightly in foil, shiny side in, to rest (you can let it rest in the still warm oven, turned off).

Strain the sauce through a strainer a couple of times.  Then set it back on the stove and reduce the liquid by half over high heat, skimming off fat.

Meanwhile, prepare the risotto:

Heat chicken stock in a small sauce pan.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a heavy, deep sauce pan.

Add minced onion and sauté until translucent

Add 1 cup Arborio rice and toast – let the grains of rice lose most of their opaque quality, an opaque ‘dot’ remaining on the grains when its ready.  Should take a couple of minutes.  Don’t let the rice burn!

Add white wine and allow rice to absorb, stirring occasionally.

Add hot chicken stock, one ladle at a time.  Each time, let the rice absorb most of the liquid.  Don’t stir it constantly, that’s a myth.  Better to cook over moderate heat and let the rice absorb the liquid naturally…stirring makes the liquid evaporate too fast on the hot pan instead of getting absorbed.  Stir ‘occasionally’.

The risotto will be done when it still has a slight ‘bite’.  Just prior to that point, add the ricotta and salt/pepper to taste.

•    To serve the meal, slice the short ribs into a few pieces and serve over risotto, with sauce lightly glazed over the meat.  Sprinkle with basil.

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