Braised Short Ribs with Rigatoni

Source

I saw this recipe on Giada at home a while ago and really wanted to make it, but I didn’t have a dutch oven. I know you can make it without one, but it’s just not the same. Santa however brought me one for Christmas! You’ve never seen someone get so excited about cooking tools for the kitchen as me 🙂 Whenever we go shopping I make a bee-line for the kitchen seciton and I am in heaven! So anyway, we were going to watch Julie and Julia that night and I was inspired. This is similar to a dish, Beef Bourguignon, that is made in the movie with an Italian twist. As most of you know I’m a Pescatarian (Vegetarian who eats fish) but I do like to cook meat for my fiance. I just like to make sure it’s good quality meat. I found some really nice short ribs while we were out and it was on.

I wore my new apron 😉 browned the ribs, got all my ingredients into the pot and we watched the movie while it cooked. The aroma in the house was really good, even for me. The recipe calls for penne, but we had some rigatoni in the pantry and that seemed to work out better. The meat just fell off the bone. Len loved it! I will be repeating this in our house again soon.

Braised Short Ribs with Rigatoni
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

* 4 pounds beef short ribs
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1 large onion, diced
* 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
* 5 Roma tomatoes, cut into eighths
* 1 cup red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
* 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
* 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
* 1 pound penne pasta (or Rigatoni)
* 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Place an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Season the ribs with salt and pepper. In a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or ovenproof stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. In batches, add the ribs and brown on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the ribs and set aside. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, wine and mustard. Bring the mixture to a boil and scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Return the ribs to the pan. Add the beef broth, cover the pan and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours until the meat is fork-tender and falls easily from the bone.

Remove the ribs from the cooking liquid. Using a large spoon, remove any excess fat from the surface of the cooking liquid. Using a ladle, transfer the cooking liquid in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth. Pour the sauce into a saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Remove the meat from the bones. Discard the bones. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into small pieces. Stir the shredded meat into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and place in a large serving bowl. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat from the sauce and add to the pasta. Pour 1 cup of the sauce over the pasta. Toss well and thin out the pasta with more sauce, if needed. Sprinkle the pasta with Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley before serving.
Recipe courtesy of FoodNetwork.com