One of my absolute favorite things to do is to peruse the aisles of my Market.  A bystander might scoff at the excruciatingly slow process of me picking up beautiful jars of this and that, just to stare, turn over in my grasp, and ponder.  The adventure of the Grocery Store begins from the get go.  Where else can you melt nuggets of softened cheese bites in your mouth proudly displayed next to ripened, local fruit, also begging to be tasted?  If Nordstrom’s started doling out Chocolate samples while you shopped, I would reconsider going shoe shopping but if not, forgettaboutit!

My most recent trip had my eco-bags burdened with the weight of bulky Short Ribs.  I’m particularly fond of fatty striped Meats.  I’m not too fond of the incommensurate price of them.  Wearing more Bone and Fat, Short Ribs seem to have a pretty high ticket (to me) so I don’t often buy them, but alas!  These were on sale, and I’m always a sucker for sales!  In Squishy-verse, food sale = larger quantity for my belly.  I can’t even begin to express the pure joy I felt from hauling in my 4 lbs of free-range Short Ribs and smugly setting them on my counter, knowing just what to do with them…

Rigatoni & Braised Ribs

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

3 hours

Total time

3 hours 30 mins

 

Author: The Squishy Monster

Ingredients

• 4 lbs Beef Short Ribs + Flour to dredge
• 1 Onion
• 4 Garlic Cloves
• 1 ts dried Thyme
• 2 Bay Leaves
• ¼ c Kalamata Olives
• 1 c Roasted Red Peppers
• 1 c Beef Broth
• 1 c Red Wine
• 2 tb Red Pepper Flakes
• ½ c – 1 c reserved Pasta Water
• ¼ c Heavy Cream
• 1 lb Rigatoni (or Pasta shape of your choice)
• ½ c Parmigiano Reggiano
• ¼ c fresh Parsley

Instructions

1. Set out your Ribs 30 minutes prior to cooking. Rinse and dredge in a mixture of Flour, Salt, and Pepper. Shake off excess and sear all sides in a hot pan, glossed over with Canola/Veggie Oil.
2. Remove your Ribs, set aside and in the same (completely heat proof pan-will be transferring the entire pot to the oven later), drizzle over some Olive Oil and soften your Onion, Garlic, Thyme, and Bay Leaves. Salt and Pepper. Make sure to scrape up all the delicious brown bits with your wooden spoon.
3. Tumble in your Olives, Peppers, Broth, Wine, Pepper Flakes. Allow it to come to a fierce bubble. Salt and Pepper.
4. Snugly fit in your Ribs into the pot and transfer to your oven, loosely covered with foil and bake at 350 for 2½-3 hours.
5. After this time, extract your Ribs and set aside. About 20 minutes later, begin shredding with your hands or 2 forks.
6. Take your Sauce (sans Meat) and blend it to a thick, chunky consistency with your blender/food processor. At the last moment, twirl in your Cream.
7. Cook your Pasta and transfer to your Sauce with a slotted spoon (reserve 1 c water), and top with Cheese, directly on top of your hot Pasta. Combine.
8. Toss in your shredded Beef with your cheesy Pasta.
9. Pour in your Sauce, drizzle in your reserved Pasta water as needed, Salt and Pepper and sprinkle with Parsley or more Cheese.

Notes

This is also stellar over Polenta, Mashed Potatoes, Rice, or Buttered Egg Noodles. If you’re worried about fat, allow just your Sauce to cool a great bit and skim off the top that floats up.

3.1.09

Proud to bring you some Meaty, Cheesy Goodness on a boring ole’ Tuesday!

Love,

Your Squishy Monster ^.^