Mar DTOM // Sticky Moreish Beef Short Ribs

Inspired by the dish this month, I found myself committing to mastering a new dish every month. Hopefully by the end of the year, I would have 12 signature dishes up my sleeve. You might recall in January, I made Super Duper Crunchy Roasted Pork Belly and in February, I made Soba Edamame Salad and Steamed Clams for the family. For the month of March, it was all about the beef short ribs.

I tend to research quite a bit before comitting to a recipe and for this round, I liked the simplicity of Gordon Ramsay's Slow-cooked Beef Short Ribs recipe and the technique of Rachel Khoo's. To be honest, I have always found the time taken in Gordon Ramsay's recipes to be unecessarily long.

The result was a platter of moreishly tender and crusty beef short ribs. It's fall-of-the-bone tender but retains the toothsome quality you would expect from a hunk of red meat. The garlic cloves turn out ridiculously sweet and soft. It's not very difficult to make this at all and totally kid-friendly, despite the alcohol content.

Presenting March's Dish of the Month (DTOM):

Ingredients

• olive oil, for frying 
• 10 thick-cut meaty beef short ribs 
• 8-10garlic cloves
• 2 heaped tbsp tomato purée 
• 1 bottle red wine 
• 1 cup beef stock 
• chopped flat leaf parsley, to garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/Gas 3. 
2. Heat a deep-sided roasting tray on the hob and add a glug of olive oil. Season the short ribs thoroughly, then fry for 10–15 minutes to brown really well on all sides. 
3. Add the garlic cloves, cut and tomato purée and heat for a minute or two to cook it out. 
4. Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up the bits at the bottom. Bring to the boil and cook for 10–15 minutes until the liquid is reduced by half, then add stock to nearly cover the ribs (you might need more stock if your roasting tray is very big). Bring to the boil again, basting the ribs with the juices. 
5. Cover the roasting tray with foil and cook in the preheated oven for 2-2.5 hours, basting now and then until the meat is tender and falling away from the bone. 
6. Turn up over to 220°C and roast for 20-30 mins uncovered. 
7. When the short ribs are ready, remove from the oven and transfer to a serving dish. I would highly encourage you to bring out the most elegant dish for this rustic hearty dish.
8. Serve the short ribs topped with the garlic cloves and parsley garnish.