Braised Short Ribs

I had braised short ribs for the first time last summer at Paloma Grill, a trendy new restaurant in Stamford owned by celebrity chef Aaron Sanchez. They were absolutely delicious! They were meat falling off the bone tender and super yummy. This brings us to yesterday. I had the craziest beef craving and just kept imagining those braised short ribs.  After trying to ignore my stomach for about an hour, I caved.  I put on my coat, braved the winter freeze and went food shopping. I must say the results were tasty. Try it yourself and let me know how it goes.  

 Ingredients: 

• 6-8 bone-in short ribs
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced 
• 2 carrots, diced 
• 4 cloves garlic, minced 
• Kosher salt 
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 2 cups of red wine 
• 2 cups of water 
• 4 sprigs of thyme (tied in a bundle)
• 2 sprigs of rosemary 
• 2 bay leaves 
• 1 tablespoon sofrito (optional) 

Instructions: 

Preheat the oven to 375º

Season the short ribs with salt.  Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on high heat in a dutch oven.  Brown the short ribs on all sides.  Cook in batches if necessary. You don't want to overcrowd the pan.  As the ribs are browning, prepare your onion, carrots, celery and garlic.  

After the ribs have browned, drain the fat and add the remaining olive oil.  Place vegetables and sofrito in the pan, season generously with salt and cook for 6 minutes.  

Add the tomato paste and cook for 5 additional minutes.  Add the wine and deglaze the pan.  Cook until the sauce has reduced by half. Add the short ribs to the pan and add the water. Add thyme, rosemary and bay leaves.

Cover the pan and place in the oven. Cook for 3 hours. Be sure to check on the ribs periodically to ensure that there is enough liquid. 

Since I'm cutting down on my carbs, I served it with green beans. I also serve it with cauliflower mash, which is another great low-carb side. The ribs are tender and yummy. Definitely good comfort food. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.