Braised Short Ribs

Okay...so I know I said that I wanted to start making some more healthy meals...but come on you gotta splurge every now and then right?!?!?!?  My mom was over at our house the other night so I wanted to make her something "homey" and "comforting" since it was so cold outside.  When she walked in we had a cozy fire in the fireplace and the house smelled awesome!  I decided to make a Braised Short Ribs recipe I found in the October 2009 issue of Bon Appetite.  There were certain ingredients that I did not care for in their recipe so I have included my adapted version of this recipe on this post.  The short ribs were braised for a few hours with some red wine, vegetables, chicken broth and herbs....they were fall off the bone delicious!  The brasing liquid and vegetables are then pureed and turned into a yummy gravy.  Here is my version of Braised Short Ribs which I served with some creamy mashed potatoes and some sauteed garlic spinach.  Enjoy!

BRAISED SHORT RIBS 

• 3 lbs meaty beef or pork short ribs
• kosher salt
• fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup olive oil - divided
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
• 1 1 /2 cups chopped celery
• 1 TB. chopped fresh celery leaves
• 5 garlic cloves chopped
• 3 - 4 TB. tomato paste (depends on how much of a tomato taste you want)
• 1/2 tsp. tarragon
• 1/2 tsp. thyme
• 1/4 tsp. sage
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 TB. chopped fresh parsley (plus more for garnish)
• 2 cups dry red wine
• 4 cups chicken broth

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place ribs on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle all sides with course kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  Sprinkle flour over and toss ribs to coat on all sides.

3. Heat olive oil in a large heavy wide pot or dutch oven.  Brown ribs on all sides - takes about 10 minutes and you may have to work in batches depending on how small or big your pot is.
4. Return ribs to cookie sheet.
5. In same pot add the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil.  Add onions, carrots, celery, celery leaves and garlic.  Cook until tender and slightly browned - stirring often about 10 to 12 minutes.
6. Add tomato paste, tarragon, thyme, sage and bay leaves.  Stir to coat.
7. Return ribs to pot so they are laying in a single layer.

8. Add wine - simmer until slighly reduced - about 5 minutes.
9. Add broth - cover and bring to a simmer - about 5 more minutes.
10. Transfer pot to pre-heated over - covered still.  Braise until ribs are tender - about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
11. Let stand at room temperature about 15 minutes.  Carefully transfer ribs to large bowl - being careful to keep meat attached to bones - some meat may fall off.
12. Remove bay leaves.

13. At this point you can either pass all liquid and vegies through a food mill OR you can do what I do and use your handy dandy hand blender and puree all vegies and liquid together. 
14. If there is some fat you can spoon fat off the top of gravy.
15. Season gravy with salt and pepper & add a few drops of balsamic vinegar. If you find your gravy too thick add a bit more chicken broth.
16. Re-warm gravy for a few minutes on stove.  Return ribs to pot - cover and simmer to re-warm; about 5 minutes.
17. Serve immediately with creamy mashed potatoes and garlic spinach.