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How about a hearty bowl of sage-wine braised beef short ribs and potatoes?
A friend of mine recently asked where I get my recipe inspirations. To her, it seems like I am always either talking about food or making it! That’s not too far removed from the truth. I do spend a lot of time thinking about food 🙂 And, honestly, I am happiest in my kitchen.
I wish I planned my recipes so far ahead; I rely too much on my cravings to tell me what to make on a given day 🙂 As far as recipe inspirations go, I wish I could tell you that there is one great source from which I glean daily cookery inspirations. Just like any other creative endeavor or passion, recipe ideas come from all over the place. I do have two big foodie crushes, David Lebovitz and Yotam Ottolenghi. But more often than not, food inspirations come to me in the grocery store. I basically rely on the ingredients to inspire the recipe. For example, the idea for this beef short rib recipe was born on a shopping trip at my favorite grocery store. My trip to the grocer is not a quick affair that involves a list to be  hurriedly checked as I piled items in the cart (my husband wishes that was the case). It is a seriously involved process. I usually stroll about, making the rounds through different sections of the store –picking through fruit; smelling the fresh herbs; tasting samples of cheese and wine; chatting up other shoppers or the deli lady; and finally stopping to visit with my favorite people at the butcher counter. Does this sound crazy or fun to you? You can be honest with me :-).
Matt the butcher and I usually chat about the various cuts of fresh meats available that day. We talk about everything from price to where the meat came from (local farm or otherwise); and of course, best ways to prepare it. This time around, we talked about the beef short ribs. And we both agreed that braising would be the perfect way to prepare these ribs. The French were on to something with this whole braising thing!  When you braise meat, you rely on time and heat to break down the toughness and achieve fall-off-the-bone tenderness.  I asked Matt to trim the fat off the short ribs and then cut them into smaller pieces, 3-inches in length each. You can do the same, if you prefer smaller short ribs. Unlike some of my other shamelessly quick recipes, such as my last baked sole fillet, this recipe for short ribs will take a little while longer– almost three hours. But it is soooo worth it! And remember, most of this time is spent with the meat and potatoes in the oven roasting to perfection in a sage and wine braising sauce. Bonus, your house will smell divine! If you’re looking for something cozy and hearty, this one-pot-wonder will certainly do the trick. And if you can’t make it today, be sure to pin it for later. It will make a great weekend supper! Here is how this sage-wine braised beef short ribs and potatoes recipe goes (print-friendly recipe to follow): Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Combine 1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt, 1 tsp pepper, paprika and ground cardamom in a small bowl. Spice short ribs generously on all sides.
In a French/Dutch oven or heavy braising pot, like this one*, heat two tbs of vegetable oil. Deeply brown the short ribs on all sides on medium-high heat. Remove from pot and set aside.
Add more oil to the pot if needed and bring heat to medium, saute the potatoes, celery, and red onion, for about 10 minutes or so; toss occasionally. Season the vegetables lightly with seasoned salt and black pepper. Remove from pot and set aside briefly.
Now in the same pot, add diced tomatoes, garlic, sage, and bay leaves. Cook together for 5-7 minutes or until the tomato turns a rusty red. Then stir in the flour to coat the tomatoes. Add the red wine and broth, and raise the heat. Cook over high heat until the liquid is slightly reduced, about 7 minutes. Add a dash of seasoned salt to your taste.
Now add the meat and sauteed vegetables back to the pot, and let everything cook together on medium-high, uncovered, for about 5-7 more minutes. Cover the pot and transfer to the 300 degree F-heated oven for two hours or until short ribs are fork-tender. Serve in bowls with your favorite crusty bread! Enjoy!
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